Elon Musk has replaced the Twitter logo with an “X” in a major corporate rebranding that comes as the company has struggled to attract advertising and is battling increased competition.
On Monday the logo visible on the website, and the badges assigned to profiles of employees at the company, changed to an “X” symbol, abandoning the bird that has been associated with the brand for more than a decade.
Mr Musk announced the revamp on Sunday, posting on the social media platform that “soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds”. He added: “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make [it] go live worldwide tomorrow.”
An image of the Twitter headquarters emblazoned with the new logo was posted by the entrepreneur on Monday.
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The website address for Twitter remains the same, as does the name of the app in Google and Apple app stores. Both now also refer to X Corp in the listing.
Mr Musk has made significant changes to Twitter since he bought the company last year, changing its name to X Corp in filings as part of his plans to create an “everything app” under the brand “X”.
Twitter’s chief executive Linda Yaccarino on Sunday laid out the vision for X at a meeting with top marketers in Napa, California, making a plea to those present to work with the company on its ambitions as changes start to roll out in the coming weeks.
The company plans to shift from being a text-focused platform to integrating more audio, video and payments features and is looking to woo advertisers as well as partner with broadcasters or payments groups.
Ms Yaccarino told the board of the Mobile Marketing Association, a trade association for marketers, that the company planned to wield artificial intelligence by working closely with Musk’s new AI company, xAI, according to Twitter. Twitter data could be used to train the AI models developed by xAI. In turn, xAI’s technology could be used to improve Twitter, the company said.
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“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centred in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services and opportunities,” Ms Yaccarino wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”
Twitter has come under increasing pressure since Mr Musk closed his $44 billion (€40 billion) acquisition of the company in October. The billionaire entrepreneur has slashed the workforce and cut costs, while radical policy changes have frustrated users and advertisers, with advertising revenues falling by half and the company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
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This month, rival Meta released its long-awaited Twitter competitor, Threads, attracting tens of millions of users. Twitter has threatened to sue Meta, alleging that it stole the company’s trade secrets when creating its messaging app.
Mr Musk has a history of changing his mind after making public pronouncements. If he follows through with a rebranding, it would mark just the latest attempt to turn round the company.
In May, he appointed Ms Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s former head of advertising, as Twitter’s chief in an effort to woo back dozens of big advertisers that had deserted the platform over Musk’s unorthodox leadership style and looser content moderation.
Mr Musk has said advertisers are returning to Twitter, but he has continued to upset its users. He sparked a backlash this month after announcing that the social media platform was putting temporary limits on the number of posts users are able to view.
Mr Musk also said this month that the company had not yet reached positive cash flow, despite suggesting in March that the company might do so by the second quarter. “We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load,” he wrote on July 14th.
Twitter’s light-blue bird logo is the company’s “most recognisable asset”, says its website, familiar to people around the world. It was named “Larry T Bird” by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone after Larry Bird, the former basketball player. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2023
