Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), has revealed his latest venture: XMail, a new email service that could challenge Google’s dominance in the market.
Musk announced his social media platform, X, where he confirmed that XMail is “coming” soon. He did not provide further details about the service’s features, launch date, or pricing but hinted that it would be integrated with the X app.
The news comes amid a wave of panic among Gmail users, alarmed by a hoax image claiming Google was shutting down its popular email service by August 2024. The image, which looked like an official email from Google, went viral on X and other social media platforms, causing confusion and outrage among millions of users.
Google quickly debunked the rumor, stating that Gmail is “here to stay” and that it had recently updated its interface to make it more user-friendly and colorful. However, some users remained skeptical and expressed interest in trying out XMail as an alternative.
XMail is one of many products that Musk has launched on his revamped social media platform, which he acquired from Twitter in 2022. Earlier this year, he introduced ChatGPT, a conversational AI assistant that uses natural language processing to generate realistic and engaging responses. Some users have praised ChatGPT as a fun and innovative communication method, while others have criticized it as a potential source of misinformation and manipulation.
Musk has also stated that his ultimate goal for X is to make it an “everything app,” a one-stop shop for all online services and activities. He has hinted at developing other products such as XPay, a digital payment system, and XTube, a video-sharing platform.
Some experts believe that XMail could be a game-changer in the email service industry, which Gmail has dominated for over a decade. According to Demand Sage, a market research firm, Gmail has over 1.8 billion active users worldwide as of 2024.
Rhea Freeman, a social media strategist, told MailOnline that XMail “might happen” and that it would be “interesting to see the uptake.”
“Elon has made huge changes to Twitter and doesn’t seem to have public opinion on side, so whether people will trust X with their email management will be something to watch,” she said.
She added that XMail could have advantages over Gmail, such as being more secure, customizable, and integrated with other X products.
However, she also warned that XMail could face challenges, such as convincing users to switch from their existing email accounts, complying with data protection regulations, and competing with other email services such as Outlook, Yahoo, and ProtonMail.
It needs to be clarified whether XMail is being developed by xAI, a company that Musk founded in 2023 to focus on artificial intelligence research and development. xAI has been involved in some of Musk’s other projects, such as Neuralink, a brain-computer interface, and Starlink, a satellite internet service.
Musk has yet to reveal when XMail will be available to the public, but some users are eager to sign up for it. Others, however, are more cautious and prefer to stick with Gmail, which they trust and rely on for personal and professional communication.