Elon Musk unveils X as the brand new name and logo that will replace Twitter and its iconic blue bird symbol. Here’s what we know about the rebranding so far.

As of writing, there are already about 450 million active Twitter users in the world in 2023, and around 11.80 million of those come from the Philippines. In fact, it happens to be one of the most popular social media platforms in the country with celebrities and other popular personalities using it, too.

Since Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 Billion, the platform has already seen several changes, including mass layoffs and a new administration that made Linda Yaccarino its new CEO. Aside from that, there was also a time when the logo was randomly changed to a Shiba Inu in line with his support for Dogecoin. 

Musk yet again brings another significant change to the app as he gets rid of the iconic blue bird logo, renames the app, and changes the logo to X—all in favor of rebranding Twitter. Here are more details about this change. 

Transforming Twitter 

Despite the changes in the name, logo, and URL, the social media platform still encourages people to keep tweeting with their accounts. “The rebrand is another step in the ongoing transformation of Twitter, an online watering hole for hyper-connected people that aspires to become an app that can do ‘everything,'” explains Yaccarino.

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity—centered in audio, video, messaging, payments or banking—creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” she adds. “Powered by [artificial intelligence] A.I., X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”

Aside from the changes that have been rolled out in the updated versions of the app and website, the Twitter logo has also been removed from its headquarters—having been replaced by the letter X. 

What This Means for Twitter

For now, the rebranding takes the form of a simple name change and new logo, as there are no new features being introduced yet. This is in line with Musk’s preferred product strategy where he hypes on something first before delivering something later on. 

Musk has been vocal for quite some time about his vision for Twitter (or X) to be a super-app that’s similar to WeChat—given that it has no American counterpart yet. As of writing, there are no specific plans being released for the app so far. 

Why X? 

Musk has been known for his fascination with the letter X, especially as his first startup (which later became PayPal) was known as X.com. The letter X also appears in his space-exploration venture company SpaceX, his Artificial Intelligence (AI) app xA, his electric car company Model X, and in his son’s name—X Æ A-XII. 

The multibillionaire eventually lost the rights to X.com in 2002 but he bought it back. Last April, he formally changed Twitter’s legal name to X Corp. Now, X.com redirects to Twitter. 

Renaming brands is one thing, but it is a challenge to retain them and uphold a reputation, especially if it was already established prior to the name changes. In Twitter’s case—where it’s already a popular app—this might pose some challenges since some people have grown attached to Twitter’s name for years.

More so, Musk’s team may also have to introduce new features without taking much of the app’s original feel to prevent users from pulling out and moving to its competitor—Threads.