Mark Zuckerberg just launched the Twitter killer Threads app and wants to get '1 billion+ people on it'

• Meta rolled out Threads — a Twitter rival — on Wednesday.
• 10 million users signed up for Threads in the first seven hours of its launch, per Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ratcheted his rivalry with Twitter owner Elon Musk as Meta rolled out its Threads app to users in 100 countries on Wednesday.

Ten million users signed up for the app in the first seven hours of its launch, Zuckerberg posted on Threads.

That excludes users from the European Union, as the app isn't available in the region yet, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

"Glad you're all here on day one. Let's build something great together!" Zuckerberg posted earlier on Wednesday. The tech titan himself has garnered nearly 200,000 followers so far.

One of Zuckerberg's first posts on the app lays out Meta's plans for taking Twitter's place as the new digital town square: "It'll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will."

The app somewhat resembles Twitter, leading Zuckerberg to post his first tweet in a decade — the famed Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme.

Threads was built by the Instagram team, and users can simply log in using their Instagram accounts. Meta has so far not shared any advertising and monetization plans for Threads. Zuckerberg said at Meta's third-quarter earnings call in October that Instagram has over 2 billion monthly active users.

While Meta investors are enthusiastic about what Threads could bring to Meta, it could be difficult to get Twitter users to switch, Billy Duberstein, a portfolio manager at Stone Oak Capital, wrote on the Motley Fool website on Wednesday.

"Getting users to switch over from Twitter may prove a difficult slog. Twitter has a first-mover advantage and the network effects that come with it, which constitute a very important moat in all leading social media companies," he wrote.

To be sure, Meta's Threads isn't the only game in town trying to the Twitter Killer. There's already Mastodon, the invite-only Bluesky — backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — and former President Donald Trump's Truth Social that are jostling for the same position, as Insider's Matthew Loh wrote on Wednesday.

"So it will certainly be interesting to see how a company as large, operationally successful, and advanced as Meta will fare in storming Twitter's 'castle.' It could truly be a case of a nearly unstoppable force colliding with a nearly immovable object," Duberstein added.

Insider's Sydney Bradley and Amanda Perelli spoke to five creators who had early access to the app, giving it rave reviews — but were hesitant to completely drop Twitter.

Meta's shares extended gains by 1% in after-hours trade to $297.40 apiece after closing 3% higher on Wednesday. They are up 145% higher so far this year.

Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.