Elon Musk is back with another bold project. During his latest appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, the tech billionaire revealed plans for a new standalone messaging platform called X Chat.
The app aims to deliver privacy and security using what Musk describes as “Bitcoin-style encryption.”
X Chat Promises Bitcoin-Style Encryption
Musk explained the new platform would use peer-to-peer encryption, similar to the technology behind Bitcoin. The system is designed to offer strong privacy and security, and it’s currently being tested, expected to be released in the next few months.
“On X we just rebuilt the entire messaging stack. It uses a sort of peer to peer based encryption system, similar to Bitcoin. I think it is a very strong encryption method. There are no hooks in the X system for advertising,” he said.
No Hooks For Advertising
Taking a shot at competitors like Whatsapp, Musk said X Chat has no advertising hooks, which means it won’t collect user data for ad targeting or marketing purposes.
“That is a massive security vulnerability, because if it has enough information to show you ads, it has a lot of information,” he said, highlighting the privacy risks for users.
He added that such systems could easily be exploited, turning private messages into a potential privacy risk, something Musk says X Chat aims to avoid completely.
WhatsApp Pushes Back on Musk’s Claims
However, WhatsApp was quick to respond to Musk’s comments. The company notes that these claims were not true and emphasizes that all personal messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted. It also added that it cannot see users’ messages and does not use them for advertising.
While Musk acknowledged that X Chat is not yet perfect, he said the goal is to replace X’s old direct messaging system with a fully encrypted platform. The new system will allow users to send text messages, share files, and make both audio and video calls.
He calls it the “least insecure of any messaging system”.
Several X users weighed in on Musk’s announcement. While some were excited about the launch, calling it a potential “WhatsApp killer” and said that this kind of competition was long overdue in the messaging space, others pointed out potential risks.
One user noted that if X can display messages, it could technically access them. Another user argued that X Chat should not be fully trusted until it undergoes an independent third-party security audit, as is standard for encryption-based tools.
Previously in June as well, when Musk had teased that X Chat was being built in Rust and would feature “Bitcoin-style” encryption, experts had criticized it.
They pointed out that Bitcoin relies on digital signatures, not encryption, and that terms like “Bitcoin-style” and “Rust” do not describe an encryption scheme or indicate strong security for a messaging app.
While Musk’s vision for X Chat is a bold step toward privacy-focused messaging, the criticisms show that trust and transparency will be key in delivering it.
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