Elon Musk’s X Could Bring Audio and Video Calling Feature to Subscribers

A screenshot of X’s code suggests the feature to be a paid service as part of the X subscription.

Written by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 26 September 2023 12:03 IST

Elon Musk’s X Could Bring Audio and Video Calling Feature to Subscribers

Photo Credit: Reuters

X costs $8 per month on Web

Highlights

X costs $11 a month on both iOS and Android
The subscription allows s to edit posts
Elon Musk had announced the calling feature last month

ment

Elon Musk, who took over the social media platform in October last year, had tweeted that a voice and video calling feature was coming to X, confirming that calls would work on iOS, Android, Mac & PC and would not require a phone number. The much-awaited audio and video calls feature, however, might not be available to all X s. According to leaked screenshots of part of X's code that pertain to the feature, only X subscribers could have access to audio and video calls.

Investor Chris Messina posted screenshots of X's code on rival app Threads (first spotted by TechCrunch), which suggests that s could be able to take audio and video calls from people in their address book, people they follow, and Verified s. The screenshot suggests that the feature would allow s to opt in or out and decide who to receive calls from. “Take messaging to the next level with audio and video calls. Turn the feature on and then select who you're comfortable using it with,” the feature's description says in the code screenshot.

Post by @chris

View on Threads

More interestingly, a second screenshot hints that the feature could be a paid service as part of the X subscription. “Audio and video calls are a feature. Subscribe to get access,” and “Subscribe to to call,” the code appears to read under the section ‘when someone tries to DM someone and hits their rate limit.'

X , that launched as Twitter Blue, adds a host of features for paying subscribers, including the verification badge, reduced number of ads on the feed, longer posts, and the ability to edit posts. On the Web, X costs $8 per month or $84 per year (Rs. 650/month or Rs. 6,800/year). On both iOS and Android, the subscription costs $11 a month or $114.99 a year (Rs. 900 a month or Rs. 9,400 a year).

Musk intends to transform X into an “everything app” in the mould of China's WeChat, offering social networking, calling and messaging, and even in-app payments. The Tesla CEO has also sought to monetize services on X. In a recent meeting with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk reportedly said that X would charge its s a small monthly fee to use the platform. Musk said moving towards a monthly payment system could counter bots from amplifying hate speech on the platform.

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Further reading: Twitter Blue

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More