‘No phone number needed’: Elon Musk-led ‘X’ to allow audio, video calls

As part of his plans to make 'X' an app that can do "everything", tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the microblogging platform (earlier Twitter) will soon allow video and audio calls on the platform, without anyone to have a phone number.

The newly announced feature will work on all kinds of devices, including iOS, Android, Mac & PC.

"Video & audio calls coming to X: Works on iOS, Android, Mac & PC. No phone number is needed. X is an effective global address book. That set of factors is unique," says Musk.

According to Linda Yaccarino, CEO, Twitter, the Musk-led team has fastened the pace of innovation in the past nine months since its takeover. "If we can achieve this in nine months, just imagine the scope of our ambition in the next year. To all of the teams and partners making it happen every day, THANK YOU!" she says in her latest post.

Musk and Yaccarino have been working on changing Twitter's core identity since her joining in April as the billionaire at that time had said they'll transform the platform into an “everything app”.

The recent big changes added to X include a double tap to fast forward or backward in the video; rate limits to fight scams; improved TweetDeck; securing of first money transmitter license in Michigan; launching of new account analytics; job listing features; airplay button for videos; community spotlight module; video downloads; community notes expansion; and sharing of ad revenue with eligible creators globally.

In one of the biggest overhauls to Twitter, Musk in July 2023 had shed the company's 'Twitter bird' identity and did away with the logo. After its $44-billion buyout last year in October, Musk merged Twitter with the newly-formed X Corp, making it clear that getting an 'X' identity was part of his earliest plans.

Yaccarino, who was appointed Twitter CEO in April 2023, has said X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking, and that it will create a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. "Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine," she had said earlier.

For years, fans and critics alike have pushed Twitter to dream bigger, to innovate faster, and to fulfill our great potential, she said, adding that "X will do that and more". "We’ve already started to see X take shape over the past 8 months through our rapid feature launches, but we’re just getting started."

After his buyout of Twitter last year, he had said the company would eventually be transformed into 'X', the "everything app". Since its buyout, the microblogging platform has gone through enormous changes. From Twitter's' Blue', 'gold', and 'silver' ticks to opposing censorship and reinstating some high-profile accounts to laying off over half of the company, Musk has consistently changed Twitter while ensuring its daily user number continues to grow.