Elon Musk says the metaverse seems more like a marketing buzzword right now than a reality

• Tesla chief Elon Musk said the metaverse is more of a marketing buzzword than a practical concept.
• He made the comment after tweeting a video of David Letterman criticizing the idea of the internet.

The metaverse is just marketing jargon at this stage.

That's according to Elon Musk, who said in a late Sunday tweet that the metaverse, also known as Web3, is basically a "marketing buzzword."

The tweet was a reply to a TikTok video he shared of David Letterman criticizing Bill Gates over the then-nascent idea of the internet. The video's creator compared the early days of the internet to that of the metaverse. To which Musk said, "Given the almost unimaginable nature of the present, what will the future be?"

In the following tweet, the Tesla chief said, "I'm not suggesting web3 is real – seems more marketing buzzword than reality right now – just wondering what the future will be like in 10, 20 or 30 years. 2051 sounds crazy futuristic!"

The metaverse is still a broad and somewhat vague term that nods to the future of the internet. In general,it refers to a virtual world where people can play games, socialize, work, attend events, and more. Many, especially crypto enthusiasts, view this next phase of the internet as decentralized, or getting away from the control of tech giants. Meanwhile, companies like Facebook-parent Meta are charging into Web3.

Despite the its loosely defined current state, the metaverse is gaining traction on Wall Street. Metaverse-related crypto tokens like Sand and Decentraland have surged this year, handily beating the gains of other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, Macro Hive found. And the metaverse as a whole presents a $1 trillion annual revenue opportunity in areas like advertising, digital events, and more, according to crypto giant Grayscale.