Elon Musk Says Video and Audio Calls Are Coming to X

X/Twitter is planning to add support for audio and video calls, according to Elon Musk. The platform already offers live public audio conversations with “Spaces,” but private conversations are currently limited to direct messages.

Musk said that audio and video calls on X will work on the desktop and mobile and that no phone number will be required. “X is the effective global address book,” Musk added, ignoring the fact that X is far less popular than other big social platforms such as Facebook or WhatsApp, which both have over a billion users.

Video & audio calls coming to X:

– Works on iOS, Android, Mac & PC
– No phone number needed
– X is the effective global address book

That set of factors is unique.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 31, 2023

Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, the current CEO of X, plan to turn what used to be a micro-blogging platform into an “everything app”. Adding audio and video calls should give some users an incentive to spend more time in the app. However, the lack of interoperability between messaging apps means that people who already have their social circles on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or iMessage/FaceTime are very unlikely to switch to another app.

Moreover, it wouldn’t be surprising to see X put some restrictions on audio and video calls for free users. In July, the platform implemented daily limits on DMs for unverified users to “reduce spam” on the platform. According to an official support page, X currently has a limit of 500 direct messages per day, which is a lot, but I’ll be curious to see if and how these restrictions will be adapted for audio and video calls.