Topline
Elon Musk explained the rationale behind his decision to rebrand Twitter into “X” in a tweet Monday evening, saying it is part of his broader effort to recast the social media platform into a so-called “everything app” and claimed the bird branding did not fit that goal.
Elon Musk outlined his rationale behind the Twitter brand name change on Monday.
Key Facts
The billionaire said he acquired Twitter “both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app” and the rebranding was not “simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing.”
Musk said the Twitter name made sense “when it was just 140-character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting,” but the site was very different now, allowing users to post “almost anything, including several hours of video.”
Musk then alluded to his earlier promises of expanding the platform into the financial services realm, saying it will add “comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world” in the coming months.
The X Corp. executive chair said that due to these changes, the “Twitter name does not make sense…so we must bid adieu to the bird.”
Musk’s remarks are the first time he has addressed the intent behind the name change at length, after suddenly announcing the move on Saturday evening.
On Sunday, the company’s CEO Linda Yaccarino offered a vague outline about the change, saying X will be “centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking” and be “powered by AI.”
Contra
Despite Musk and Yaccarino’s bold claims, some commentators and brands have expressed confusion, wondering why the company was ditching such an established and recognizable brand name. Others insist they plan on still calling it Twitter. Some advertisers have expressed concern that the branding change could drive away users from the platform, while others are worried that the suddenness of the change could disrupt their existing campaigns. Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine also wondered why Musk paid $44 billion to acquire the company if he did not want “its employees (whom he fired) or its code (which he trashes regularly) or its brand (which he abandoned) or its most dedicated users (whom he is working to drive away).”
Key Background
The rebranding process began on Sunday as Musk crowdsourced the design for a new logo that ended up being a spin on an existing Unicode glyph. The billionaire then announced that X.com was redirecting to Twitter’s homepage. Other changes began to roll in early on Monday, with the platform’s homepage ditching its iconic blue bird logo. The transition is not fully complete yet, as the company’s “about us” page still displayed the old branding at the time of publishing.
Further Reading
Twitter Logo: Elon Musk Replaces Bird With ‘X’ In Rebrand (Forbes)
