Elon Musk says X is bringing video to Spaces

By Jason Pena

Elon Musk has revealed plans for X, formerly known as Twitter, to integrate video into Spaces, the social platform’s live audio discussion feature. Musk aims to roll out this feature by the end of the year, with a potential launch in early next year.

Speaking about the upcoming feature, Musk explained that X is actively working on incorporating video into Spaces, providing users with a simple toggle option to enable or disable the video feed. In a move reminiscent of video conferencing platforms like Google Meet, Musk detailed that when multiple speakers are present in a Spaces session, the video feed will dynamically switch to the current speaker.

Musk emphasized the value of visual cues, stating, “It’s helpful to see people’s body language as they speak… It conveys more information if you can see their face and their body language if they wish to.” This shift to video within Spaces aligns with the goal of enhancing user engagement and communication on the social network without the need for external platforms.

Notably, X had introduced a live video broadcasting feature earlier in the summer, mirroring functionalities found on other social platforms like Facebook Live and Instagram Live.

Spaces, initially introduced in 2021, positioned itself as a direct competitor to Clubhouse, which gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Musk, following his acquisition of the social network, has not implemented significant changes to Spaces, the renaming from Twitter Spaces to X Spaces marked a notable shift. Now, Musk and X are poised to extend Spaces beyond its audio-only roots, opening new avenues for interaction on the evolving social platform.