In a move both shocking and expected, Elon Musk has superseded Twitter’s beloved blue bird logo with an “X”. This major rebrand that took place on Monday pushes the social media platform closer to Musk’s vision of an “everything app”.
The web version of the platform displayed the new logo on Monday morning. This icon, a white stylized “X” on a black background, has also been adopted as a badge signifying accounts linked to company employees. Twitter’s official account—@Twitter—has been renamed to “X”, displaying the new logo as a profile picture and a bio reading “What’s happening?!” Other Twitter accounts are undergoing changes to align with the new branding. Mobile apps are yet to feature the change, but this is expected once they are updated.
Interestingly, Musk replaced the X logo with one having slightly thicker lines on Tuesday but then reverted it after disliking the change. He promised that the logo would evolve over time, suggesting that further tweaks could be expected in the future.
Musk’s decision to replace Twitter’s iconic bird, affectionately known as Larry, is part of his ambitious plan to transform Twitter into an “everything app”, emulating the likes of Chinese tech behemoth WeChat. Some steps toward this transformation were already taken, such as changing the business name to X Corp. However, these were largely backend changes with less impact on users. The logo change signals a visible escalation of this transformation.
The new logo has garnered mixed reactions from users and experts. The rebrand has been perceived as a risk, potentially discarding years of Twitter’s name recognition. Some users already miss the old bird logo, viewing the new approach as somewhat cold and impersonal.
Despite the divided reactions, the freshly appointed CEO, Linda Yaccarino, embraced the change, tweeting “X is here! Let’s do this”. She saw this as an exceptionally rare opportunity for Twitter to make a big new impression, with no limit to the transformation. Musk, now heading Twitter following his controversial $44 billion purchase in 2022, echoes this sentiment and seems committed to leading drastic overhauls to the platform.
As the billionaire continues to redefine Twitter or rather ‘X’, his next moves are awaited with bated breath. Whether you hail the new era or long for the days of the blue bird, one thing is clear – the Twitter we once knew is evolving into a new frontier.
