Twitter, the popular social media platform, has undergone a major rebranding, officially changing its name to “X” and replacing its iconic bird logo with a simple, sleek “X.” The move comes following the takeover of the company by its owner, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, last year for a staggering $44 billion.
The transformation was revealed when Musk posted a cryptic video of a flickering “X” on Twitter Sunday. In response to questions during a Twitter Spaces audio chat, he confirmed the logo change, explaining that it symbolizes embracing imperfections that make individuals unique. Musk even humorously remarked that they were removing the Twitter logo from the building with blow torches.
On Monday, the change was further emphasized when Musk tweeted an image of the new “X” branding displayed prominently across Twitter’s headquarters. The company’s website, Twitter.com, remained live, and the app’s branding appeared unchanged at the time of the rebrand’s announcement.
This latest change is part of a series of significant shifts since Musk took over Twitter, previously renaming the company from Twitter Inc. to X Corp in April. In an effort to reduce spam, Twitter also recently announced restrictions on the number of daily direct messages unverified users can send, urging users to subscribe to their premium service to access additional messaging features.
Twitter’s rebranding comes amidst rising competition from Meta’s Threads app, which launched recently. The move to “X” signifies a new direction for the platform, as stated by Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino, who expressed that the future lies in “unlimited interactivity” centered on audio, video, messaging, and payments, creating a global marketplace for ideas and services, all powered by AI.
Musk has long envisioned turning Twitter into an “everything app,” similar to China’s WeChat, with a wide range of features and functionalities. With the rebranding now in effect, the social media giant is poised to explore new horizons and create an even more interactive and versatile user experience.
While the origin of the new “X” logo remains a mystery, some online users have pointed out its similarity to a Unicode character. Unicode, overseen by the nonprofit organization The Unicode Consortium, is a standard for digital letters and emojis used in various digital platforms.
As Twitter embraces its new identity as “X,” it marks the end of an era for one of the most recognizable brands of the social media age. The blue Twitter bird, once an iconic symbol, has now been replaced, signifying a fresh chapter for the platform under the visionary leadership of Elon Musk and his vision for an interconnected, AI-powered future.
