TOPLINE
Elon Musk has replaced Twitter’s iconic blue bird logo with an “X” on Monday, part of a major rebrand teased over the weekend that takes the platform another step closer to the billionaire’s dream of creating an “everything app.”
KEY FACTS
The change appeared Monday morning on the web version of the platform.
The new logo, a white stylized “X” on a black background, has also replaced the bird as a badge signifying an account linked to a company employee.
Twitter’s official account—@Twitter—has also been changed in the rebrand and is now named “X,” showing just the new logo as a profile picture and a bio reading “What’s happening?!”
Other Twitter accounts appear to be in the process of being changed, with accounts for creators (@TwitterCreators) and verification (@verified) having been changed while others, notably the main support account (@TwitterSupport) still showing the blue bird at the time of writing.
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Mobile apps still appear to feature the blue bird, though it is likely this will change once they are updated.
NEWS PEG
Musk’s decision to replace Twitter’s iconic bird is both shocking and inevitable. On the one hand, he is jettisoning one of the company’s most recognizable assets—Larry, as it’s known, has represented Twitter for more than a decade—and whose features, including color and “tweets,” permeate the entire platform. On the other hand, Musk has been open about his ambition to transform Twitter into an “everything app” called ‘X, in the vein of Chinese tech behemoth WeChat. Concrete steps had already been taken toward this goal, such as changing the business name to X Corp, but these were largely back end changes that didn’t have too much of an impact on users. Musk escalated the transition over the weekend, when he said the site “X.com” would now redirect to Twitter and forecast “soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” In a departure from the considered, glacial and often subtle rebrands of many companies, Musk elected to crowdsource Twitter, or X’s, new logo from his followers. He later shared an image of the new logo projected onto the company’s headquarters.
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CRUCIAL QUOTE
“X is here! Let’s do this,” tweeted freshly minted CEO Linda Yaccarino. It is “exceptionally rare” to have a second chance to make another big impression, Yaccarino said, but X is Twitter’s chance to do just that. She said there is “no limit to this transformation” and that the team is “just getting started.”
FORBES VALUATION
$236.5 billion. That’s how much Forbes estimates Musk is worth, according to our real time tracker. His fortune places him at the very top of Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people. Musk’s wealth largely comes from his stake in electric carmaker Tesla and the cadre of valuable companies he cofounded, including rocket firm SpaceX, brain implant company Neuralink and tunneling enterprise Boring Company. He controversially purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and started on a series of drastic overhauls, including its content moderation and verification policies and slashing headcount.
FURTHER READING
Elon Musk Directs X.com To Twitter, Plans To Ditch Twitter Bird (Forbes)
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