Elon Musk’s latest business idea: Selling X usernames for millions of dollars
Elon Musk has faced some setbacks lately, with Tesla’s numbers taking a noticeable hit. However, the tech billionaire is in a unique position to offset weaker business areas by leveraging his other companies. For instance, SpaceX recently purchased a fleet of Cybertrucks – officially for electrification purposes, though critics suspect the move was more about boosting Tesla’s sales figures.
Now, Musk appears to be shifting his focus toward strengthening his social platform X. The company has officially announced the launch of its own username marketplace. Called the X Handle Marketplace, it will enable the reassignment and sale of inactive or highly sought-after handles.
The official launch took place on October 19 via the @Xhandles account. According to X, the marketplace offers an “industry-first solution” for systematically reallocating unused usernames. Access will initially be granted to Premium organizations, with Premium+ subscribers next in line. Details regarding the exact rollout date or first sales have not yet been disclosed.
According to the tech site WinFuture, some individual handles could sell for seven-figure sums. Depending on factors such as popularity, length or cultural relevance, prices may range from around $2,500 to over $1 million. X divides these into two categories: priority handles and rare handles.
- Priority handles come bundled with a Premium+ or Business subscription, but are returned to the pool once the subscription is canceled.
- Rare handles – typically very short or high-profile names – will only be available through invitations or special “drops.” Unlike priority handles, they remain permanently owned by their buyers.
As usual, community reactions are mixed. Many see the move as a fresh take on digital ownership, drawing comparisons to domain trading and NFT marketplaces. Some even liken owning a rare handle to having a personalized license plate. Critics, however, point to double standards: just a few years ago, selling handles was grounds for suspension – now X is launching an official marketplace. Others remain skeptical about the vague criteria for “inactivity,” the rental-style system behind priority handles, and the lack of transparency around pricing.
Source(s)
X (formerly Twitter)
