Musk Shares X App's Performance and Future Plans

X claims $1 billion in annual subscription revenue, but regulatory hurdles remain for X Money launch.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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Elon Musk provided updates on the performance and future plans for the X app during an all-hands meeting with the combined xAI and SpaceX teams. Key highlights include X reaching a $1 billion annual run rate for subscriptions, a spike in engagement and long-form content, and the upcoming launch of X Money, though regulatory approvals remain a challenge.

Why it matters

As Musk's vision for an 'everything app' similar to WeChat, the performance and evolution of X is crucial to his broader plans for the platform's integration with xAI and other Musk-led initiatives. The subscription revenue and user engagement figures provide insight into X's monetization efforts, while the ongoing regulatory hurdles for X Money underscore the challenges Musk faces in realizing his ambitious goals for the app.

The details

According to X's head of product Nikita Bier, the platform has now reached a $1 billion annual run rate for X Premium subscriptions. However, only around 1% of X's user base are currently paying for the app. Musk claimed X has over 1 billion users, though the actual active user count is disputed, ranging from 500 million to 600 million. X also reported a major spike in engagement in January, with a 10x jump in long-form content published and a 17x increase in long-form article reading. Musk touted the upcoming launch of X Money, which he says is already operating internally, but the app still lacks key regulatory approvals in states like New York, casting doubt on Musk's timeline for a public rollout within the next two months.

  • In January 2026, X saw a major spike in overall engagement.
  • X claims it will beat its January engagement numbers in February 2026.
  • Musk initially said X would have funds transfers up and running by the end of 2024, but the feature is still not live.
  • Musk says X Money is expected to launch publicly within the next two months, by April 2026.

The players

Elon Musk

The CEO of X (formerly Twitter) and founder of companies like Tesla and SpaceX.

Nikita Bier

The head of product at X.

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What they’re saying

“The reason we say 1 billion users is that while our monthly users are, on average, around 600 million, the number of people who have the X app installed is well over a billion, it's just that most people only occasionally come to the X app when there's some major world event.”

— Elon Musk (socialmediatoday.com)

“As we give people more reasons to use the X app, whether it's for communications, for Grok or for X money, whatever the case may be, we want it to be such that, if you wanted to, you could live your life on the X app, and as we make it more and more useful, we'll obviously give people compelling reasons to use the app every day, and my expectation is well over a billion daily active users.”

— Elon Musk (socialmediatoday.com)

What’s next

Musk says X Money is expected to launch publicly within the next two months, by April 2026, though the app still lacks key regulatory approvals in some U.S. states, including New York.

The takeaway

Musk's vision for X as an 'everything app' akin to WeChat faces ongoing challenges, including user engagement, subscription growth, and regulatory hurdles for new features like X Money. The platform's performance and evolution remain crucial to Musk's broader plans, but realizing his ambitious goals will require overcoming these obstacles.