Elon Musk reveals why he is rebranding Twitter to X – as police disrupt firm’s signal removing

Elon Musk has stated the Twitter title “does not make sense” as he rebrands the platform into an “everything app” referred to as X.

The world’s richest man has not been shy of placing his personal stamp on the location he purchased for $44bn (£38bn) final October and has now launched into probably the most dramatic change in its 16-year historical past.

Musk spent the weekend teasing an imminent reinvention and unveiled a brand new title and emblem yesterday.

His need to impose sweeping modifications to such a recognisable social media model prompted confusion, however the SpaceX and Tesla proprietor defended the transfer in a late evening tweet.

“The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video,” he stated.

“In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world.

“The Twitter title doesn’t make sense in that context, so we should bid adieu to the chicken.”

Earlier, Musk had declared tweets now be referred to as x’s.

What is ‘the every little thing app’?

Musk has lengthy spoken of his need to show Twitter into an “everything app” modelled on China’s WeChat.

It combines options like messaging, funds, a market, and public posts into one place.

Musk stated he purchased Twitter “as an accelerant for X”, a letter with clear sentimental worth to him.

Not solely is it a part of the title of his rocket agency, but additionally one in every of his kids; a synthetic intelligence start-up he launched earlier this yr; and a web-based financial institution he co-founded in 1999 that later turned PayPal.

Experts have prompt the Twitter change is as a lot about tying it to Musk’s private model as anything.

Read extra:
Why rebranding Twitter can be an infinite problem

Rapid modifications at HQ

The rebrand has not simply been mirrored on Twitter’s web site and app, but additionally at its San Francisco headquarters, the place Musk had the brand new emblem beamed on to the constructing.

Workers had been seen eradicating the Twitter signal from exterior on Monday, however had been briefly held up by police.

Witnesses stated officers instructed them Musk’s firm hadn’t acquired a allow for the crane to be on web site, however the delay was later put right down to a “misunderstanding”.

Local police instructed The San Francisco Standard: “At approximately 12:39pm, officers assigned to Tenderloin Station responded to the area of 10th and Market Street regarding a report of a possible unpermitted street closure.

“Officers had been in a position to decide that no crime was dedicated, and this incident was not a police matter.”

Inside the constructing, remaining references to Twitter and its iconic emblem have additionally reportedly been eliminated.

A statue of the blue chicken was among the many objects put up for public sale earlier this yr as Musk regarded to chop prices, having already sacked thousands of staff.

On Monday, The New York Times reported X logos were projected in the building’s canteen, while conference rooms were renamed to words with X in them – including “eXposure” and “s3Xy”.

Musk, who’s 52, has a historical past of creating jokes referencing web memes about intercourse and medicines.

Another rival emerges?

As Twitter’s rebrand received below method, TikTook revealed it had added the power for customers to submit textual content updates.

The Chinese-owned app is finest recognized for short-form video, however has beforehand branched out into photograph sharing.

The textual content possibility offers folks “another way to express themselves”, the corporate stated.

It represents one more direct rival to X, which is already keeping off competitors from the likes of Meta’s Threads, which turned the quickest rising app in historical past earlier this month.

Some customers and advertisers have been wanting elsewhere because of Musk’s many modifications, which have included locking verification ticks behind a paywall, reinstating banned accounts similar to that of Andrew Tate, and making use of studying limits.

His unfastened stance on moderation has contributed to Twitter shedding virtually half of its promoting income, with the corporate unprofitable and in heavy debt.