Twitter's New Logo Explained: What Does The X Mean?

After Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October last year, he made it clear that big changes were coming to the social media platform. Not everyone was on board with his actions as CEO. For example, firing most of his staff and adding a paid Blue Subscription service were two major decisions that were met with substantial pushback. In yet another controversial decision, Musk has ditched the platform's iconic blue bird logo in favor of the letter X.

Not only was the logo changed, but the platform's name was also changed to X. Now, anyone that goes to X.com will get redirected to Twitter.com, though according to Musk, the primary domain for the service will eventually be X.com. This decision was understandably met with criticism as many believed Twitter's iconic blue bird to be its most prized asset. 

In the past, Musk has stated that the domain X.com has great sentimental value to him. So, what does this rebranding mean for the platform? And what does the letter X mean to Musk?

Twitter's rebrand to X symbolizes a transition into a new era for the platform. Although no new features came with the change, this symbolic gesture puts the social media app one step closer to becoming something more. Newly appointed CEO Linda Yaccarino calls this rebranding a "second chance to make another big impression."

The X app has been a dream of Musk's for some time now. The entrepreneur even bought Twitter to accelerate the creation of the proposed "everything app" he called X. Musk envisions this app to be a WeChat for the West, providing possible functions such as the ability to buy things, pay rent, and even schedule appointments.

Those that have followed Musk closely will know he has a history with the letter X. One of Musk's earliest business ventures, an online banking platform he co-founded in 1999 that eventually became PayPal, was initially called X. Since then, Musk has made it a habit of incorporating the letter X into his projects. A few examples of this include SpaceX and the Tesla Model X. Even his youngest son is named X.

It's unclear why Musk chose the letter X as the face of the new platform. It could be because he's nostalgic about his early days in business. Or maybe he just thinks the letter sounds cool. Only time will tell if this risky rebranding is the start of something big or if it's just another footnote on the decline of Twitter.