Billionaire Elon Musk confirms Xmail is coming soon; Here's what Google said

In a move that has the tech world buzzing, Elon Musk, the big boss of X (formerly Twitter), has thrown down the gauntlet, announcing the upcoming launch of Xmail. The new email service is poised to challenge the dominance of Google's Gmail, sparking a flurry of speculation and anticipation among tech enthusiasts.

The buzz began after a tweet from Nathan McGrady, a senior figure in X's Security Engineering team, questioned Musk about the launch date of Xmail. Musk's succinct reply, "It's Coming," was all it took to set the internet ablaze with discussions about the future of email services.

When we making XMail?

— Nate (@natemcgrady) February 22, 2024

Interstingly, Musk's reply came at a time when the internet was rife with rumours about Gmail's demise, fueled by a viral post on X featuring a hoax image that claimed Gmail would be shutting down by August 1, 2024.

The post, which showcased a supposed email from Google announcing the shutdown, caused widespread panic and speculation.

However, Google was quick to debunk these rumours, reassuring users that Gmail is "here to stay" and highlighting the recent transition from the 'basic HTML' view to a more modern 'Standard' view as part of its ongoing updates.

Despite Google's clarifications, the rumours had already sparked a debate about the need for alternative email services and users started expressing distrust towards Gmail and showed their interest in exploring other options. 

Musk's announcement of Xmail has, therefore, come at a crucial time, offering a potential new player in the email service market that could capitalize on the current unrest.

Google, on its part, has been working on enhancing Gmail's user experience, transitioning users to a 'Standard' view that aligns with the company's Material Design theme, promising a more modern look and feel. 

Netizens reactions

Within 24 hours, Musk's post garnered over 200,000 views on X, eliciting a wide range of reactions. Below are some of them:

Lost trust in Gmail. Time to make the switch to Xmail ASAP!

— fity.eth (@Fityeth) February 23, 2024

Will you be consider making a search engine from xAI? 🤔

— Patrick Lac (@PatrickLac007) February 23, 2024

The exodus from google would be huge. Make sure we have good import tools to completely get off that woke platform the no longer "does no evil"

— BullCryp ⚙️💙 (@sbiefeni) February 23, 2024