Elon Musk has been talking about turning X into a WeChat-style super app since he bought the platform back in 2022. Since then, he’s suggested adding a financial module to the platform. Now, over three years later, that dream is nearly here with X Money — it’s currently rolling out to a limited number of users. But ahead of the imminent launch, Musk has found a pretty unexpected promoter for it. William Shatner — yes, Captain Kirk himself — has been all over X recently promoting X Money.
Throughout the campaign are references to the number “42.” One screenshot shared by Shatner showed Musk sending him $42 through the X Money app. That’s an oddly specific number: it’s actually a reference from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams’ cult sci-fi novel.
With Musk’s $42 blessing, Shatner then auctioned off 42 beta invites to X Money at $1,000 each. All proceeds then went to Shatner’s charity supporting children’s and veterans’ organizations. Each winner gets access to the beta along with a $25 welcome bonus from X. They also get $1 forwarded from the original payment Musk sent Shatner.
Besides the auction, Shatner has also been sharing screenshots of the app itself. Those show a pretty straightforward interface with tabs for Account, Activity, and Rewards, along with buttons for deposits, peer-to-peer transfers, and payment requests. On the financial side, the beta is advertising 6% APY on deposits, which is well above what most traditional banks offer right now. Deposits are held by Cross River Bank and insured up to $250,000 per person through the FDIC. Auction winners will reportedly be among the first to get a metal Visa debit card personalized with their X handle. That also comes with zero foreign transaction fees.
But why’s it controversial?
William Shatner says his participation in promoting the service is strictly for charity. He even joked in those series of posts that if he were the ‘poster child’ of X Money, he’d be drowning in Teslas and Starlink stock by now.
That said, the broader rollout of X Money has not come without criticism. Back in May 2025, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Micah Lasher wrote to the Department of Financial Services asking them to block X from getting a money transmitter license in the state. As stated in the letter, the biggest concern was conflict of interest around Musk’s position running DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency).
The letter argued he could gain access to confidential information about competitors in the payments space, thanks to that position. Notably, X’s history of data breaches was flagged too, along with the rollback of several safety features following Musk’s 2022 acquisition — like reducing guards around adult content.
Now it’s worth mentioning that Musk has since stepped back from his official role at DOGE. That does take some of the teeth out of the argument, even as the organization itself is still technically active until July 2026.
As for New York, according to a report from The Information, X reportedly withdrew its money transmitter application in the state late last year and has been in talks with officials to address their concerns — though those talks reportedly haven’t made much progress. Now, X Money does hold transmitter licenses in more than 40 other states. But without New York — one of the most important financial markets in the country — turning the platform into one of the top super apps is off to a rough start.
