In the midst of redirecting his Mars colonisation ambition to the Moon ahead of the launch of Artemis II, Elon Musk's new venture is focused on expanding the capabilities of his X platform.
Built directly into the social media platform, X Money is the CEO's attempt to turn X into something far bigger than a place for political opinions and news updates.
Part of his broader 'everything app' strategy, X Money is designed to offer peer-to-peer payments, a physical debit card and the foundations of a broader banking service. Early public access is expected in April this year, while beta invitations have already begun to select members.
The tech mogul also announced that the launch would partner with Star Trek legend William Shatner.
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According to Tech Crunch, the Canadian actor shared details of the X Money service on his feed in March, with Musk resharing one of his posts with the caption 'X Money' and adding, in a separate repost, "This will be big."
The beta invites were made available through an online auction, with access granted to those who made a $1,000 donation to Shatner's charity, an organisation that supports children's and veterans' causes.
Musk shared his blessing by donating $42, a nod to the sci-fi reference in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy helping Shatner eventually raise nearly $200,000 for charity. Shatner has been sharing screenshots of his charity updates on X.
X also offered 42 invites to the X Money beta to those who donated in the auction. Winners will find a link to the X Money service appearing in their app, and will be among the first to receive the metal X Money debit card.
"I say, great, I've got $42 from Elon Musk. I'll sell each of those dollars," the movie star told Business Insider.
Now, as a thank-you to his donors, Shatner announced he will send $1 cheques, via his X Money account, to anyone who makes a $200 donation to his charity.
"I will probably put up the X Money Checks in the next day or two, the 93-year-old actor posted. "$200 donation you get $1.00 check from my X money account. Wait for the checks to be put up."
Some users were confused by the whole ordeal and turned to the platform's AI chatbot Grok to clarify that the cheque was a 'collectible keepsake' from the actor.
Another fan commented: "For any good Charity this is Awesome. Each Signed Check should have a Unique Number. No doubt, time will increase their Value."