Why is Elon Musk so fascinated by the letter X?
It's a bird, it's a plane, nope, it's an "X"
Elon Musk has never been afraid to ruffle feathers, which might go some ways to explain his latest move. Musk has boldly rebranded Twitter, bidding adieu to its iconic blue bird logo (the bird is called Larry btw) and introducing a mysterious "X" in its place.
With a white "X" on a black background, Twitter's desktop version has undergone a transformation, leaving mobile users eager for the "X" to flutter their way. Not stopping there, Musk plans to give the lingo a facelift too "Tweets" will soon be called "X's."
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
"Today we say goodbye to this great blue bird," he said of the announcement. Later the tweet was shared by Jack Dorsey, Twitter's best-known co-founder.
Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, the company's chief executive, seemed to confirm the change in Twitter's logo by sharing pictures of the new icon projected onto the side of Twitter's San Francisco headquarters.
The X logo which has replaced the Twitter bird, pictured on the side of Elon Musk's building
The new logo, a "minimalist art deco" X, is part of Twitter's rebranding efforts, which Musk had previously hinted at through a flickering video on his Twitter feed. Although Musk mentioned that the design might undergo further refinements, it looks like the X has taken center stage as the chosen symbol.
Who made the new Twitter logo?
The crowd-sourced logo concept, was posted by Sawyer Merritt, co-founder of a sustainable clothing business. As Elon boldly marches towards his "super app" dream, Twitter loyalists mourn the loss of their beloved blue bird.
Going with minimalist art deco on the upper right.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2023
Probably changes later, certainly will be refined.
How is Elon planning on making Twitter a “Super App”?
The “Super App” Elon is talking about resembles China's multi-functional app WeChat. Musk sees the potential in emulating WeChat's success, allowing users to perform various tasks, from messaging to ordering taxis and paying bills. In June last year, Musk apparently told Twitter staff, “You basically live on WeChat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.”
With Musk's penchant for the letter X and a nod towards WeChat's versatility, the stage is set for an X-traordinary journey as Twitter undergoes its evolution into a new era .
Why is Elon Musk so fascinated by the letter X?
Since taking over Twitter last year, Musk integrated the company into X Corp, a subsidiary of X Holdings Corp, signalling his vision for reshaping the social media platform.
Elon Musk's infatuation with the letter "X" is well documented. From X.com, his early online banking venture, to the recent "X" rebranding of Twitter, it's clear that "X" marks the spot for Musk's wildest ideas.
One of the eccentric entrepreneurs’ first business ventures back in 1999 was known as X.com, which was an online banking platform. Three years later, Elon made $165 million when X.com (which by then had merged with PayPal) was bought by eBay.
Elon also owns the X.com domain name, which now redirects to Twitter. Elon recently launched his artificial intelligence start-up which is named “xAI” in a bid to build a competitor to ChatGPT. Even his child's name with musician Grimes, X Æ A-12 Musk, starts with the letter X.
It's like Musk is playing a game of Hangman, and "X" is the only letter he's allowed to use.