By
Bena Ilyas
April 23rd, 2024
As part of plans to launch the X super app, Elon Musk has said the Twitter logo would change to X.
Twitter owner and former CEO Elon Musk has confirmed plans to replace the Twitter Logo with the letter ‘X’ sometime today if a new design is approved. The change to X is likely the first of several, as Twitter morphs into X Corp, Musk’s proposed and long-awaited “everything app”.
On Sunday, Musk indirectly asked his over 149 million followers to submit designs for the X logo. In a tweet, Musk said a new logo will “go live worldwide” today if someone posts “a good enough X logo”. In a previous tweet, Musk announced that the company will eventually retire the Twitter name:
“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”
In yet another tweet, Musk confirmed that “X.com now points to Twitter.com”. He also added that the “Interim X logo goes live later today”.
Musk had responded to an invitation from a Twitter user to join a Spaces conversation. Responding to whether or not the Twitter logo would change, he simply answered “Yes”. Explaining why Twitter decided to make the change now, Musk said “it should have been done a long time ago”. He then added lightheartedly:
“We’re cutting the Twitter logo off the building with blow torches. Well, it’s got to come off somehow, really – it’s more dramatic that way.”
New Twitter Logo to Reflect the X Super App
Early this month, Musk confirmed in a tweet that Twitter would rebrand to X. An official document filed at a California federal court confirmed that the company retired the “Twitter Inc” name, stating that the popular microblogging social media platform was now part of the X parent company – X Holdings Corp. Musk’s tweet, the filed document, and the proposed change of Twitter’s logo put definite moves to plans for the X app Musk had announced last October.
The plan for X is an everything app, similar to the WeChat app in China. Owned by Tencent Holdings (HKG: 0700), WeChat is a super app that combines financial services, social media, and instant messages into one platform. Musk has previously made direct comparisons between WeChat and the proposed X app. The intention is for X to be the WeChat equivalent outside of China.
WeChat began as an instant messaging app in 2011 and eventually morphed into an app for multiple functions. In addition to messaging, users can make purchases and even schedule doctors’ appointments. Also called Weixin in China, WeChat currently has more than 1.3 billion monthly active users (MAU) globally and is expected to hit 1.671 billion this year. The payment service, WeChat Pay, is expected to hit 1.133 billion active users this year. An estimate puts the app’s growth at more than 16% from 2023 to 2025.
Although Musk has lofty plans for the X app, there are speculations that it would face several problems. Firstly, there is stiff competition from several other giants. Currently, YouTube, TikTok, and WhatsApp, are all working on evolving into super apps. Furthermore, X Corp is likely to face regulatory difficulty from authorities who might feel Musk’s intended monopoly might be harmful.