It appears that we were on to something a few months ago. Twitter has taken another step towards becoming X – “the everything app.” But what does this mean, and why the change in a brand as iconic as Twitter? We take a look.

As we explained back in April, when positing the advent of the “money tweet,” and in December, when reviewing the history of online payments and their granddaddy company, PayPal – the Delaware corporation known as Twitter was merged into a new Nevada corporation known as X Corp. on March 15, 2023. Both of these entities are under the ownership of Elon Musk, and many of Musk’s latest tweets have referred to a change in the Twitter brand.

Musk has long-hinted at change in Twitter brand

One such Musk tweet reads: “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

This was followed by an invitation to his followers to propose designs: “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow.”

Next came a short thread:

Musk thread on X

Then came: “If X is closest in style to anything, it should, of course, be Art Deco.”

“Deus X” ensued.

And, finally, “𝕏” – a character known as the mathematical double-struck capital X. By convention, double-struck capitals nowadays symbolize mathematical sets (e.g., the double-struck Q for rational numbers), but Musk’s X has no conventional meaning.

Twitter CEO Yaccarino gives clearer explanation of Twitter rebrand

Linda Yaccarino, who in May took over from Musk as Twitter’s CEO, chimed in with a more conventional explanation, producing a four-tweet thread:

“It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.

“For years, fans and critics alike have pushed Twitter to dream bigger, to innovate faster, and to fulfill our great potential. X will do that and more. We’ve already started to see X take shape over the past 8 months through our rapid feature launches, but we’re just getting started.

“There’s absolutely no limit to this transformation. X will be the platform that can deliver, well….everything. @elonmusk and I are looking forward to working with our teams and every single one of our partners to bring X to the world.”

So the borrowed mathematical symbol has no conventional meaning, embodies each person’s peculiarities and stands for a company that hopes to provide all possible services.

It is nothing, anything and everything.

Speculations still rife on Musk’s motivations

Speculations on the intent behind Musk’s purchase of Twitter have varied. Some believe it’s a power grab, or an ego trip. Others believe he’s rescuing the freedom of speech from the encroachments of governments, corporations, international bodies and even the press, especially over the past few years. Still others believe he has purchased an invaluable database on his enemies, one that includes not only their tweet history but also their direct messages (DMs).

We at SGI Europe have speculated that Musk has embraced the ideals of his adopted country, the U.S., where the spending of money is itself speech. From this perspective, it seems natural to fashion a company that blends messaging with banking.

A few things are certain. X is an old project of Musk’s, founded before PayPal and described by him as a “main-stream financial services play” for customers who were “ready to use the Internet as their main financial repository.”

Also, Musk repurchased the X.com domain in 2017. And Twitter began applying for financial licenses in January of this year.

On Oct. 5, 2022, before the Twitter acquisition, Musk tweeted as follows: “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.” That same month he tweeted: “Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years, but I could be wrong.”

Hiccups for X already?

Mark Zuckerberg, the man whom Musk has challenged to a cage fight, is the Chief Executive behind not only the new Twitter competitor Threads but also the company that owns a word mark in the U.S. under the symbol “X,” as Business Insider has pointed out.

Meta vs X-Twitter

Meta’s (left) and X Corp.’s X logos.

The two X’s are distinct in certain aspects, however – Meta’s looking like a simple computer graphic of two arrowheads coming into collision; Twitter’s looking like a generic, if double-struck, capital letter in a non-serif typeface.

Moreover, the goods and services listed for Meta’s wordmark on the website of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office do not include banking or any other financial services. Rather, they include “computer software” for the “transferring and streaming of data, text, games, game content, digital media” and so forth; the promotion of video games and related things; online streaming; “entertainment services”; the design and development of software; and “online social networking services.”

The last item would seem to pose the greatest legal risk.

But there has been a second kerfuffle.

On July 24, according to the San Francisco Chronicle and other outlets, the San Francisco police stopped the removal of the Twitter sign from Twitter headquarters. A complaint appears to have emanated from the building’s owners, as tenant X Corp. had undertaken the work without a permit.

Last we heard, the sign reads “er.”

Photo: Tweet by Elon Musk, showing the new logo projected onto Twitter headquarters, San Francisco 

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