Elon Musk unveils a drastic rebranding strategy for Twitter, replacing the iconic bird with a new 'X' logo

In a move that will undoubtedly seem drastic to many, Elon Musk, Twitter's owner, has revealed a comprehensive rebranding strategy for the social media giant. After purchasing X for $44 billion last year, Musk has replaced its recognizable blue bird logo with a new X logo, which seems to be inspired by a glyph from Special Alphabets 4, indicating a unique identity for the redesigned platform. Musk has stated that this logo is temporary, hinting at possible future changes.

The website X.com now leads to Twitter's main page, even though Twitter.com remains operational, and the X logo is currently visible on the web version and is anticipated to become the new logo on mobile app versions after updates. Musk's rebranding plan is in line with his objective to evolve Twitter into a multifunctional "everything app", encompassing features like audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking, all powered by artificial intelligence.

This comes just days after Twitter introduced a new rule to curb spam by limiting daily direct messages from unverified accounts. This ensures that DMs from followed accounts are directed to the primary inbox, while messages from non-followed verified accounts are sent to the message request inbox. Previously, this rule only applied to Blue subscribers who could send DMs to non-followers. While the company's rationale is to combat spam, users also perceive this measure as an attempt to encourage unverified users to choose the Blue membership.

The rebranding began in April when Twitter Inc. was renamed X Corp., as per court records. Musk has revealed that tweets will now be referred to as "x’s," although the fate of retweets remains undecided. Notably, Musk's preference for the letter "x" is apparent in his other projects, such as SpaceX and his AI venture, xAI. Interestingly, Musk co-founded PayPal, which was previously known as X.com before it was rebranded in 2001.

Our take: As the transformation continues, the new X logo is expected to impact Twitter's branding and user experience. Soon, all references to the old branding and name will disappear, making way for the new 'X'. Whether this radical change to a recognized image of over 15 years is a wise decision remains to be seen.