Elon Musk has pushed through a Twitter rebrand with a new X logo that replaces the iconic blue bird logo that launched in 2010.
"Tweets" will be replaced, according to the Twitter owner, and posts will be called "x's". The X logo is meant to be “minimalist art deco”, and may end up changing again in the future, Musk said.
Going with minimalist art deco on the upper right.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2023
Probably changes later, certainly will be refined.
Musk is a big fan of X when it comes to branding (SpaceX, X.com etc), and is the name for his planned “everything app” that would encompass functions such as paying for bills and ordering a taxi, inspired by the all-encompassing WeChat in China.
Our headquarters tonight pic.twitter.com/GO6yY8R7fO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2023
According to recently-appointed Twitter CEO, Linda Yaccarino, X is “centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking” and is “powered” by AI.
X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 23, 2023
The rebrand, which can now be seen on Twitter itself, comes hot on the heels of the launch of social media rival Threads which saw explosive growth in the week after release. Musk has accused Threads creator Meta of “cheating”, and threatened to sue over "systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation" of Twitter's trade secrets and intellectual property, as well as scraping of Twitter's data, in a cease-and-desist letter sent to Mark Zuckerberg by Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro.
Last week, Musk admitted Twitter had lost almost half of its advertising revenue since he bought it for $44bn last October, and that the social network is struggling under a heavy debt load. Cash flow also remains negative. In a tweet (an X?) Musk said: "Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else."
We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2023
Musk sacked about half of Twitter's 7,500 staff when he took over in 2022 in an effort to cut costs.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
