Elon Musk reveals new 'X' logo to replace Twitter's blue bird (2024)

Goodbye, Twitter. Hello, X.

Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year.

The X started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday, but the bird was still dominant across the smartphone app. In response to questions about what tweets would be called when the rebranding is done, Musk said they would be called Xs.

“It’s the end of an era, and a clear signal that the Twitter of the past 17 years is gone and not coming back,” said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst with Insider Intelligence. “But the writing was on the wall: Musk has been vocal about transforming Twitter into platform X from the start, and Twitter was already a shell of its former self.”

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It’s yet another change that Musk has made since acquiring Twitter that has alienated users and turned off advertisers, leaving the microblogging site vulnerable to new threats, including rival Meta’s new text-based app Threads that directly targets Twitter users.

Musk had asked fans for logo ideas and chose one, which he described as minimalist Art Deco, saying it “certainly will be refined.” He replaced his own Twitter icon with a white X on a black background and posted a picture of the design projected on Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.

“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk tweeted Sunday.

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The X.com web domain now redirects users to Twitter.com, Musk said.

“I can’t say I’m surprised, but I think it’s a very selfish decision,” said Hannah Thoreson of Baltimore, who’s used Twitter since 2009 for work and personal posts.

“There are so many small businesses and so many nonprofits and so many government agencies and things like that all around the world that have relied on Twitter for many years to push their message and reach people,” she said. “And they all have the Twitter icon on everything from their website to their business cards.”

Changing all this costs time and money, she added, not to mention the confusion that comes with a previously unknown brand name.

“I mean, do you want to get rid of the Coca-Cola brand if you’re Coca-Cola? Why would you do that?” said Thoreson, who now primarily uses Mastodon.

Musk, chief executive of Tesla, has long been fascinated with the letter and had already renamed Twitter’s corporate name to X Corp. after he bought it in October.

The billionaire is also CEO of rocket company SpaceX. He started an artificial intelligence company this month called XAI to compete with ChatGPT. And in 1999, he founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal.

Additionally, he calls one of his sons, whose mother is singer Grimes, “X.” The child’s actual name is a collection of letters and symbols.

Musk’s Twitter purchase and rebranding are part of his strategy to create what he’s dubbed an “everything app” similar to China’s WeChat, which combines video chats, messaging, streaming and payments.

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Linda Yaccarino, the longtime NBCUniversal executive Musk tapped to be Twitter CEO in May, posted the new logo and weighed in on the change, writing on Twitter that X would be “the future state of unlimited interactivity — centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking — creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.”

But ad industry analysts were less certain about X’s prospects.

“Musk supporters will likely celebrate the rebrand, but it’s a gloomy day for many Twitter users and advertisers,” Enberg said. “Twitter’s corporate brand is already heavily intertwined with Musk’s personal brand, with or without the name X, and much of Twitter’s established brand equity has already been lost among users and advertisers.”

Some predicted the new name will confuse much of Twitter’s audience, which has already been souring on the social media platform following Musk’s other modifications, including limiting the number of tweets users can read each day. The new threshold is part of an $8-per-month subscription service Musk rolled out earlier this year in an attempt to boost Twitter’s revenue.

Whether advertisers will ever return depends on how successful the rebranding is and whether Musk is able to accomplish his goal of creating an “everything app.” That remains to be seen, said ad expert Mark DiMassimo.

“Advertisers care about what they’re buying. So if his strategies work, I don’t think advertisers could care less about what he calls it,” DiMassimo said.

“I think changing the name is just a way for him to say, ‘Stop having Twitter expectations, this is a new thing, judge it as a new thing,’” he added. “And you know, that only works if the new thing works.”

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Twitter users also pointed out that few people refer to Alphabet, Google’s parent company since 2015. Facebook renamed itself Meta in 2021, but its collection of apps — Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook — still retain their own brands and logos.

Twitter’s recognizable blue bird logo went live more than a decade ago in 2012, replacing an earlier bird logo ahead of the company’s Wall Street debut as a publicly traded company.

“I’m sad to see it go. It had a great run,” said the logo’s designer, Martin Grasser. “But 11 years, 12 years is really long for a corporate identity to stick around. It feels like the platform is changing and they have a new direction and it makes sense” that they would pick a new logo to signal those changes.

AP Technology Writer Matt O’Brien and AP Business Writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.

More to Read

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  • Elon Musk says X is fighting bots and spam, and the solution is: $1 subscriptions

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  • Commentary: Elon Musk bought Twitter just to break it. With a new war, we’re paying the price

    Oct. 10, 2023

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Elon Musk's Rebranding of Twitter

Elon Musk has unveiled a new logo, represented by the letter "X," to replace Twitter's famous blue bird logo as part of a major rebranding effort for the social media platform he acquired for $44 billion last year The new logo, described as minimalist Art Deco, has started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter, while the bird logo is still dominant on the smartphone app.

Musk has expressed his intention to transform Twitter into a platform called "X" from the beginning, and the rebranding signifies the end of an era for the Twitter we have known for the past 17 years Musk also mentioned that tweets will be referred to as "Xs" after the rebranding is complete.

The rebranding and changes made by Musk since acquiring Twitter have led to some user alienation and a decline in advertiser interest, making the microblogging site vulnerable to new threats, such as Meta's text-based app Threads, which directly targets Twitter users.

Twitter's Merger with X Corp.

Twitter is no longer an independent company after merging with a newly formed shell firm called X Corp. Elon Musk has renamed Twitter's corporate name to X Corp. after acquiring it in October The X.com web domain now redirects users to Twitter.com.

Elon Musk's Strategy and Goals

Elon Musk's purchase and rebranding of Twitter are part of his strategy to create an "everything app" similar to China's WeChat . He aims to combine video chats, messaging, streaming, and payments within the platform Musk's goal is to create a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.

Twitter's New CEO

Elon Musk has confirmed that the new CEO of Twitter, now X Corp., will be Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the ad industry from NBCUniversal Yaccarino has expressed her support for the change, stating that X will be the future state of unlimited interactivity, centered around audio, video, messaging, payments/banking, and creating a global marketplace.

User and Advertiser Reactions

The rebranding and other modifications made by Musk, such as limiting the number of tweets users can read each day and introducing a subscription service, have led to some dissatisfaction among Twitter users and advertisers .

Some users and advertisers are concerned about the potential confusion caused by the new name and the loss of Twitter's established brand equity The success of the rebranding and Musk's ability to create an "everything app" will determine whether advertisers will return to the platform.

In conclusion, Elon Musk's rebranding of Twitter involves replacing the blue bird logo with a minimalist Art Deco "X" logo, renaming the corporate name to X Corp., and aiming to create an "everything app" similar to WeChat. The rebranding has generated mixed reactions among users and advertisers, and its success will determine the future of the platform.

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Elon Musk reveals new 'X' logo to replace Twitter's blue bird (2024)
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