Figuring out how the billionaire plans to transform the social network is back in the news. A clue was offered this week by Musk, who said that buying the social networking site would help create X, the everything app.
While Musk didn't elaborate on what X would look like, many think he's trying to duplicate the success of WeChat, which has become the everything app in China. People use it to read the news, hail rides, book doctor's appointments, pay taxes, and do a lot of other things.
Musk has a lot of praise for the messager. In his first town hall with the staff of the social network, the founder talked about the possibility of a Chinese version of the network.
And, you know, if I think of, like, WeChat in China, which is actually a great, great app, but there’s no WeChat movement outside of China. And I think that there’s a real opportunity to create that. You basically live on WeChat in China because it’s so useful and so helpful to your daily life. And I think if we could achieve that, or even close to that with Twitter, it would be an immense success.
One of the greatest inventions of the Chinese internet was WeChat. Musk probably knows a lot about the Chinese internet giant because of the investment he has made in the company. Is the model a good one for the US?
The criticisms of the app are due to the features that impress Musk. Critics say that the all-in-one messenger has built a walled garden where users only have access to its payments app and information they consume is either published within its infrastructure or third-party services. Beijing's recent anti-monopoly movement began to tear down the thick walls that made it difficult for links from Tencent's nemeses to be found.
A super-app might bring convenience to users as they don't need to leave the platform, but the model can stifle competition and rule out user choices.
Is it possible that Musk could duplicate the success of WeChat in the U.S.
It's not in its current state. It was possible for the messaging app to thrive under unique conditions to China. It is important to remember that WeChat is a social messaging app and not a social media platform. It is a chat app so it is very sticky. China has over 1.3 billion users of WeChat, which is the most popular messenger in the country.
The app didn't start from the ground up. QQ was the social networking king of China and took off in the PC age. After the launch of WeChat, people were able to add Q Q friends on the platform. If he built X from the ground up, he would be able to get people to use it. It would be competing in a market crowded with other messaging services.
Messages are a gateway through which people come to discover the plethora of features it has been adding over the years. The Public Accounts feature is one of its early killers. When Public Accounts was launched, China's Netizens were able to share their thoughts on the platform. The former had a 140-character limit, while the latter had a more open style. Everyone from economists to small business owners were attracted to Public Accounts because it was built off a chat app.
The number of users reading articles through Public Accounts doubled by the beginning of the 21st century. State media, fashion brands, and any other organization that needs to produce content is able to do so on the platform. There is more diversity in the online media landscape. People read news on news apps, seek thought leadership on social networking sites, and encounter brands through the internet. Most of the businesses in China don't have a website, but they do have a public account.
Public Accounts has evolved into a digital infrastructure for businesses that is similar toshopify. It was possible because of the launch of WeChat Pay. China never had widespread credit card adoption and went straight from paying with cash to mobile payments using QR codes.
WeChat Pay became the default payment option for a number of popular apps, including Didi, which is backed by one of the most prolific corporations in the world. Musk would have to form alliances with other internet giants in order to drive adoption of a new payments solution like the one he was considering.
Over time, the role of WeChat in e- commerce has grown more powerful. Developers were allowed to build lite apps that ran inside WeChat. Businesses that used to hawk products through static Public Account pages can now run stores that use the basic functions of an e- commerce app. Pinduoduo, the social commerce startup that grew to rivalAlibaba in half a century, took off as a mini app thanks to its seamless integration with WeChat. Imagine if you could make a purchase without ever leaving the messenger.
After turning itself into the Word Wide Web for China's mobile internet, WeChat built an appecosystem within itself. Considering that they already have a stronghold in their sectors and control over user data, it is not likely that tech businesses will join a hypothetical X super app. Musk would be setting himself up against established tech giants with hundreds of millions of users and their own payment products.
Rather than copying, Musk could use an advantage. Most of China's top internet firms have partnerships with electric vehicle makers. Others are betting on a future where smart vehicles become a major portal for entertainment, shopping, and even information consumption, and they want to have skin in the game.
Nio, one of the fastest-growing EV startup in China, is partnering with Tencent to create a news program tailored to people when they are driving. Video streaming services and voice assistants can be plugged into Nio's operating system. So couldTesla.
The infrastructure for this is already in place byTesla. As my colleague wrote.
Tesla is open to third-party developers. The Tesla API is technically private. But it exists, allowing Tesla’s own first-party app to communicate with the cars to do things like read battery charge status and lock doors. When reverse-engineered, it’s possible for a third-party app to communicate directly with the API.
It is inspiring, but it may not be what the American public wants, and it can't be repeated outside of China's context. Musk could leverage theTesla app and weave it into his hypothetical X project, taking cue from how WeChat formed a vibrant in-app ecosystems with third-party developers, but even if theTwitter deal goes through, that still doesn't.
TezLab CEO Ben Schippers to discuss the Tesla effect and the next wave of EV startups at TC Sessions: Mobility 2021
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