Gmail could soon have another competitor, judging by reports on Elon Musk’s apparent plans.
Musk is floating the idea of a service called X Mail. If you believe some media accounts, the simplified system would
be a deadly threat to Gmail.
Not much is known about it. For one thing, "it remains unclear whether this will be a standalone app or integrated within X,”
Android Police writes.
It is also a mystery how X Mail plans to rival the 1.8 billion users that Gmail has.
The frenzy of media
reporting was prompted when an X user posted this message: “X Mail would be cool,” adding that the format should be “username@x.com.” Musk replied: “Yeah. On the list of
things to do.”
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Here are some additional clues. “Musk confirmed that it will have a DM-style interface
you see on messaging platforms,” Android Police added. “The service will apparently provide an email address that delivers messages directly to a plain-text DM inbox, eliminating threads
and formatting commonly associated with traditional email.”
Musk already has plenty on his hands, including his role with the incoming Trump administration. And it can be argued that X, the former Twitter, has not been a major success under his control and leadership.
One also wonders whether there is a political
component to this. Many observers, leaning both left and right, think Google should be broken up. The rumor that Google would sell Gmail now doesn’t seem as outlandish as it did several months
ago.
And another question is whether Musk would attempt to control the content going back and forth in X Mail? And finally, would it be more tough or easier on
the issue of user privacy?
Don’t panic, email marketers -- there’s no timeline yet.