Elon Musk announces change to Twitter logo


Twitter owner Elon Musk said Sunday that he was changing the social media brand's logo to an 'X' and doing away with the platform's iconic bird symbol.
The announcement began with a series of cryptic tweets from Musk about the letter 'X,' including a message which shows off a shimmering 'X' logo. He eventually tweeted that the company "shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand, and, gradually, all the birds."
The change could come as soon as Monday, Musk said, and is the latest large alteration in the company since Musk purchased the platform for $44 billion in 2022. The 'X' initiative is unsurprising, as Musk has long shown an obsession with the letter and changed the name of Twitter's parent company to X Corp. this past March. The billionaire magnate tweeted last year that his purchasing of Twitter was "an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," as part of an effort to compete with Mark Zuckerberg's Meta platform.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The feud between Musk and Zuckerberg has been heating up in recent months, with the latter recently unveiling a direct competitor to Twitter, a messaging app called Threads that is integrated into the Meta-owned Instagram. The two billionaires have even challenged each other to a fight, though it is unclear how serious either of them is.
However, the changing of the logo seems to directly go against the company's current beliefs. The website's branding page currently says that Twitter's bird logo "is our most recognizable asset. That's why we're so protective of it."
The change will also likely not be welcomed on Twitter itself, Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, told The Associated Press. Users of the platform "won't get it," Adamson added. "It's a fitting end to a phenomenal unwinding of an iconic brand and business."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Why are Americans using ‘buy now, pay later’ apps to buy groceries?
Today's Big Question A 'layaway program, but reversed'
-
Trump moves to gut PBS and NPR in latest salvo against the media
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's executive order targeting two of the nation's largest public broadcasters comes as the White House seeks to radically reframe how Americans get their news
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
Musk vs. Altman: The fight over OpenAI
Feature Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion takeover bid for OpenAI
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
-
Elon Musk's DOGE website has gotten off to a bad start
In the Spotlight The site was reportedly able to be edited by anyone when it first came online
-
What Trump's 'tech bros' want
The Explainer Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had 'prime seats' at the president's inauguration. What are they looking to gain from Trump 2.0?
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday