Honestly, I wonder what’s wrong with me”: Elon Musk Finally Explains His Fascination With the Letter ‘X’

Elon Musk’s latest appearance on Nikhil Kamath’s widely followed podcast WTF is has triggered intense buzz across social platforms. The conversation, which covered a broad range of topics related to business, technology and global trends, offered one moment that especially caught the attention of viewers. Musk finally opened up about his lifelong fascination with the letter X, a theme that runs through several of his ventures and personal decisions.

A short segment from the interview has gone viral. In it, Musk is asked directly about the recurring presence of X in his work. It is a question that both supporters and critics have raised repeatedly. Why does the billionaire keep returning to this single character over and over again?

A Question That Even Musk Laughs At

The interview setting was understated and presented in black and white. Kamath took the opportunity to ask a question many have been waiting to hear Musk answer. “Why do you like the letter X as much as you do?” he asked.

Musk did not try to present a rehearsed corporate justification. Instead, he laughed and admitted with surprising honesty, “It is a good question. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what is wrong with me.” His response was lighthearted but also hinted at a genuine curiosity about his own branding tendencies.

He traced his connection to the letter back to 1999. With characteristic humour, he joked that this period belonged to “ancient times in the Precambrian era when there were only sponges.” At that time, single letter domains were extremely rare. According to Musk, the only ones available were X, Q and Z. He immediately gravitated toward X because it matched the ambitious idea he had in mind.

The Original X.com and Musk’s Vision for Digital Money

In 1999, Musk launched X.com, an online financial services platform. He explained that his goal was to rethink how money flows through digital systems by applying principles from information theory.

Musk said the traditional banking landscape was built on many separate databases that communicate slowly, rely on outdated batch-processing systems and often lack strong security. His idea was to create one unified, real-time and secure database that could manage transactions more efficiently.

Although X.com eventually morphed into what the world now knows as PayPal and later became part of eBay, Musk never lost interest in the original concept. Years later, someone from eBay contacted him and asked if he wanted to purchase the X.com domain. Musk agreed and held onto it for a long period without any immediate plans for its use.

The Return of X After the Twitter Acquisition

The opportunity to revive the X brand emerged when Musk acquired Twitter. He saw the purchase as a potential pathway to revisit his 1999 idea on a much larger scale. As he described it, buying Twitter opened the door for him to pursue the concept of a universal hub for digital transactions once again.

“When I was acquiring Twitter, I thought it could be a chance to return to the original plan for X.com which was to create a clearing house for financial transactions,” Musk said. He added that the platform could evolve into a highly efficient money database that aligns with the vision he had more than two decades ago.

A Letter That Echoes Through Musk’s Entire Career

The interview highlighted how deeply the letter X is embedded in Musk’s professional and personal life. His aerospace company is named SpaceX. His artificial intelligence company operates under the name xAI. One of his children carries the name X Æ A-12, now known simply as X. Even Tesla has a Model X in its lineup. The pattern shows a persistent attachment that Musk himself half-jokingly struggles to fully explain.

The podcast episode covers far more than this running theme. It includes Musk’s thoughts on India, advancements in artificial intelligence, global technology challenges and his reflections on morality and the future. Yet it is his lighthearted confession about his love for X that has captured the most attention online.