Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that X will launch a standalone “X Chat” in the upcoming months, while also maintaining Chat embedded in X. He noted that its peer-to-peer encryption resembles “similar to Bitcoin” and emphasized that the system avoids advertising hooks.
During a recent discussion, Musk shared that X has “rebuilt the entire messaging stack” as X Chat and described security as something to be viewed in “degrees of insecurity,” rather than in binary terms. He outlined a peer-to-peer model, aiming to make Chat “the least insecure” among messaging apps. He also mentioned that encryption is “very good” and currently undergoing extensive testing.
Musk linked his security perspective to business design. He pointed out that competing messengers introduce risks by including “hooks for advertising,” which could potentially allow access to messages if exploited. He affirmed that X Chat will not have such hooks.
Distribution will follow a dual track. “We’ll have both,” Musk stated, noting an app dedicated for launch “in a few months,” alongside the integrated experience within X. In either version, users will be able to text, share files, and make audio or video calls once all features are rolled out.
Currently, Chat within X serves as an upgraded replacement for older direct messages and is in beta for Premium subscribers. The in-app Chat supports text, photos, media attachments, GIFs, and file sharing linked to X handles instead of phone numbers. While audio and video calling were mentioned as part of the future plan, they are not available in the current X version.
Musk focuses on two core principles: ensuring end-to-end encryption of content and minimizing what the service needs to know by eliminating ad-targeting logic. Many mainstream messengers encrypt message content but retain metadata such as counterparts and timestamps; Musk believes that reducing reliance on advertising limits potential vulnerabilities.
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