Elon Musk has snatched the “@x” Twitter handle without offering financial compensation to the original owner, his latest move that symbolizes the chaotic nature of his rebranding of Twitter into an “everything app” named X.
The Telegraph reports that Elon Musk has taken control of the @x Twitter handle without paying the previous owner as part of his rebranding of Twitter as an “everything app” called X. San Francisco-based photographer Gene X Hwang, who had been the owner of the ‘@x’ handle since 2007, was informed of the takeover via an email from the company.
Elon Musk looks puzzled (Anadolu Agency/Getty)
“They just took it essentially – kinda what I thought might happen,” Hwang said. He was reportedly offered some X merchandise and a meeting with the company’s management, but no financial incentive was proposed. “They did send an email saying it is the property of ‘x’ essentially,” Hwang added. His account has since been moved to a new handle, @x12345678998765.
Alls well that ends well
— x (@x12345678998765) July 26, 2023
Musk’s acquisition of the @x handle is part of his broader vision to transform Twitter into an “everything app”. This enhanced platform would not only include Twitter’s existing social networking and messaging features, but also incorporate payments, banking, and video services. Musk’s commitment to this transformation was demonstrated when he attempted to remove the Twitter sign from the company’s San Francisco headquarters, although police intervened to stop the sign change.
In addition to the username acquisition, Musk unveiled a new logo for X, a modest departure from the original design featuring a white “X” on a black background with slightly thicker lines. However, within hours, Musk reversed the change, reverting to the original design. “I don’t like the thicker bars,” he explained in a post on X. He further added that the logo will continue to evolve over time.
Responding to critics who claim that the rebranding wiped between $4 billion and $20 billion in value, Musk confidently stated, “X will become the most valuable brand on Earth. Make [sic] my words.”
Breitbart News previously reported on the opinions of brand experts who believe Musk is throwing away massive value–especially because Twitter and “to tweet” are part of the popular lexicon:
Jasmine Enberg, an analyst with Insider Intelligence, noted that “Twitter’s corporate brand is already heavily intertwined with Musk’s personal brand, with or without the name X,” adding that “much of Twitter’s established brand equity has already been lost among users and advertisers.”
It’s “completely irrational from a business and brand point of view,” Allen Adamson, co-founder of the marketing and brand consulting group Metaforce, said, adding that this change was an “ego decision” on Musk’s part.
“To me, it’s going to go down in history as one of the fastest unwinding of a business and brand ever,” Adamson added.
Read more at the Telegraph here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan