Why Elon Musk’s Plan for a Super App Won’t Be Easy in America

Subscribe to a bundle to unlock all coverage by Caixin Global and the WSJ.

By Alexa Corse, Meghan Bobrowsky and Peter Rudegeair

(The Wall Street Journal) — Elon Musk has waxed poetic about turning X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, into an “everything app,” capable of handling massive financial operations for users, and this week, he set an ambitious deadline.

“In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world,” Musk tweeted Monday evening.

While the idea of a super app is appealing to companies that want more ways to make money and grow their user base, it is easier said than done — even on a yearslong timeline. No app in the U.S. has been able to successfully become a super app, though many companies have talked about it, including PayPal, Snap and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block.

The story is different in Asia, where Chinese internet giant Tencent’s WeChat app is considered the archetypal super app and is used for everything from ride-hailing and e-commerce to mobile payments and even government services.