Twitter Becomes X: How Elon Musk is Working Towards His 1999 Dream of Creating an 'Everything App’
Indeed, Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter for a staggering $44 billion has triggered various changes and updates to the platform. The most recent shift involves a complete rebranding of Twitter, changing its name and brand logo to X. Musk announced this transformation through a tweet, revealing that the domain X.com now redirects users to Twitter's homepage.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has been actively working on monetizing the platform through premium subscriptions and paid verification badges. His ultimate vision for the microblogging site is to turn it into an "everything app" similar to WeChat. This all-in-one app would offer a wide range of functionalities, from day-to-day communications to services like booking rides, sending money, and making payments.
Although the platform has been renamed to X, it has not yet achieved the status of a super app like Musk envisions. However, Musk's efforts and updates continue to shape the platform, making it an intriguing space to watch in the tech world. With the new logo and X branding, it's clear that Musk has ambitious plans to lead Twitter into the future and potentially incorporate it into his X group of companies.
Elon Musk's recent rebranding of Twitter to "X" is not a random decision, as his affection for the letter X dates back many years. In 1999, he launched x.com as a finance platform, which later became PayPal after merging with Confinity. However, Musk was removed as CEO of PayPal in 2000, and the company was eventually sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
Despite this setback, Musk bought back the domain x.com in July 2017, explaining that it had sentimental value to him. He briefly made it live again, redirecting visitors to The Boring Company in December 2017.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has been determined to realize his vision of creating an "everything app" under the X brand. He has used the letter X in the names of his other ventures, such as SpaceX, his space exploration company, and xAI, his latest AI initiative. Even Tesla's first SUV model was named Model X.
Under Musk's leadership, Twitter has seen significant changes, including the termination of its then-CEO, Parag Agrawal, and other top executives. Celebrities whose accounts were previously banned have been allowed to return, and monetization efforts through Twitter Blue have been made.
Despite Musk's involvement in new features and changes, he recently announced his resignation as CEO of Twitter, appointing Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO. Musk has indicated that he will delegate authority to Yaccarino to focus on his other companies.
Regarding Twitter's name and logo history, the platform was initially planned to have different names before settling on "Twitter." The iconic blue bird logo was created by Simon Oxley and was purchased by Twitter for around $15. The current design, featuring a bluebird in flight, was created by Doug Bowman, the former creative director of the company.
With the new rebranding to "X," Twitter's identity and logo have changed once again. The logo was designed in-house using the font monotype, according to a tweet by Paris Marx. Another Twitter user has also claimed credit for the design and shared the history behind its creation. The transformation signifies Musk's ambitious plans for the platform, aiming to shape Twitter into an all-encompassing and valuable app akin to his vision of the "everything app" under the X umbrella.