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X Chat\u2019s standalone app isn\u2019t the only new service X is testing this week. The company has also begun offering select users invites to its X Money payments service<\/a>, which was previously being tested<\/a> internally among X employees. These invites, however, were not doled out in the typical way. Instead, X owner Elon Musk worked with William Shatner (yes, the actor) to invite people into the beta in exchange for a $1,000 donation to Shatner\u2019s charity<\/a> that supports childrens\u2019 and veterans\u2019 organizations. <\/p>\n On X, the \u201cStar Trek\u201d actor has been sharing information<\/a> about the X Money service and its beta invites, which were made available<\/a> via an online auction on Monday. Musk reshared<\/a> one of Shatner\u2019s posts to his own feed, saying simply \u201cX Money.\u201d Musk also reposted<\/a> another user\u2019s post about X Money, adding, \u201cThis will be big.\u201d<\/p>\n The auction<\/a>, Shatner noted, was conducted with Musk\u2019s blessing after Shatner received payment from Musk via the X Money app. (A screenshot<\/a> showed that Musk sent him $42, a playful sci-fi reference: the number is, in \u201cThe Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy\u201d by Douglas Adams, the computed answer to the meaning of life.)<\/p>\n X also offered 42 invites to the X Money beta to those who donated in the auction. <\/p>\n After receiving a notification, the auction winners will be able to see <\/a>a link to the X Money service appear in the app, just below the link to Premium. They will also be among the first to receive the metal X Money debit card with their username from X\u2019s partner, Visa<\/a>, which is helping power the person-to-person payments aspect of the service. <\/p>\n The addition of X Money to X is part of Musk\u2019s plan to make the social network more of an \u201ceverything app,\u201d offering a variety of features, including private messaging, payments, creator content, subscriptions, video, and more.<\/p>\n