I like the idea of matrix and element, but the execution is just so lackluster. Even Signal added a lot of quality of life improvements, and WhatsApp is consistently getting better. I don't like the idea of using a messenger owned by Meta, but honestly, messengers absolutely need an excellent UX and UI, QOL features, etc. and Element is just far behind in this regard.
$50 says that this is yet another instance of the failure-mode explained in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44392479.