Elon Musk Begins Rebranding Twitter as 'X'

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Facts

  • Elon Musk has announced that social media platform Twitter will be rebranded to "X," with CEO Linda Yaccarino describing the move as a step towards creating a "global town square."1
  • Musk revealed as part of a series of tweets on Sunday that the changes would begin as early as Monday. Musk stated that the platform would soon "bid adieu to the twitter [sic] brand and, gradually, all the birds."2
  • The company's new logo has been unveiled as a white "X" on a black background. In 2017, Musk bought the domain X.com from PayPal — which he had co-founded in 1999 — and stated upon his acquisition of Twitter his desire to create an "everything app" called "X" within three to five years.3
  • While Twitter's website address and name within the Google and Apple app stores currently remain the same, the company's name has officially been changed to "X Corp" in legal filings.4
  • Founded in 2006, Twitter has used its logo for over a decade. Yaccarino described the rebranding as a "second chance to make another big impression," following the platform's 50% reduction in advertising and negative cash flow during Musk's tenure as owner.5

Sources: 1BBC News, 2Associated Press, 3Reuters, 4FT, and 5CNN.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Sydney Morning Herald. Musk's consistently erratic decision-making since becoming Twitter's owner continues to have long-lasting and damaging consequences for the platform's reputation. While the plan for "X" has been lurking in the shadows for some time, it's clear that Musk wishes to strip the company of its very core and transform the platform into a completely different entity. Whether X is successful or not, we are witnessing the slow death of Twitter in front of our very eyes.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Global Village Space. Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter has been met with excitement and skepticism. The change is undoubtedly bold and is one of the most significant decisions that has been made since the company's acquisition, and — like all things Musk — only time will tell the true impact of this vision-oriented change on the platform's future.

Predictions