Elon Musk has introduced a fresh black and white logo, shaped like an “X,” to replace Twitter’s iconic blue bird, as part of his extensive rebranding of the social media platform, which he acquired for $44 billion the previous year.
On Monday, Musk changed his own Twitter profile picture to the new white X on a black background and shared an image of the design projected on Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.
Starting Monday, the X logo began appearing on the top of Twitter’s desktop version, while the blue bird remained dominant on the phone app.
Musk had sought logo ideas from his fans and selected one, describing it as a minimalist Art Deco design that might undergo further refinement.
In a tweet on Sunday, Musk expressed that the Twitter brand and the bird logo would soon be bid farewell, and eventually, all the bird-related elements will be phased out.
Musk stated that the X.com web domain now redirects users to Twitter.com.
When asked about what tweets would be called after the rebranding, Musk replied that they would be referred to as “Xs.”
The letter “X” holds a special fascination for Musk, as he has used it in various aspects of his businesses and personal life. For instance, his son with the singer Grimes has a name consisting of letters and symbols, including the letter “X.”
Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and the subsequent rebranding align with his ambition to create an “everything app,” similar to China’s WeChat, encompassing video chats, messaging, streaming, and payments.
Linda Yaccarino, whom Musk appointed as Twitter CEO in May, praised the new logo and described X as the future of unlimited interactivity, centered around audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking, aiming to establish a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the rebranding, experts have raised concerns that the new name might confuse Twitter’s audience, especially given the previous changes Musk has made to the platform. Additionally, Twitter faces fresh competition from Threads, a new app by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, directly targeting Twitter users.
