Why does Elon Musk like the letter X? Tycoon reverts to his favorite symbol for Twitter rebranding
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Elon Musk has long been known for his fondness for the letter X and has often used the letter in his professional and personal lives. Recently, the Tesla CEO announced a major rebranding of Twitter and dramatically changed the social networking site's logo from the iconic Larry bird to the letter "X." While the billionaire never cited a reason behind his love for the letter, he has shown his affinity toward the same for the past 25 years.
"And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," Musk tweeted on July 23. "If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow," he added. Shortly after, he explained the X logo would be used to "embody the imperfections in us all that make us unique." The SpaceX leader then revealed the new logo through a three-second graphics video and pinned the tweet on his page. He also shared a photo of Twitter headquarters with the new logo on display.
Inside Elon Musk's history with the letter X
Long before Musk established himself as the richest person in the world, his first business endeavor began with "X." The business tycoon launched X.com, an online banking and financial services platform in 1999. The following year, Musk was forced to step down from his role as the CEO of the organization. Three years later, Musk made $165 million after the site, which had already merged with PayPal at the time, was bought by eBay.
The Tesla CEO bought back the X.com domain from PayPal in 2017. "Everyone tried to talk him out of naming the company that back then because of the sexual innuendos, but he really liked it and stuck with it," Ashlee Vance, the author of 'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future', once said while talking about Musk's decision about naming the site, NPR reported.
"Thanks PayPal for allowing me to buy back X.com! No plans right now, but it has great sentimental value to me," Musk wrote on Twitter after his 2017 purchase. Following his first major use of the letter, Musk went on to establish the spacecraft engineering company, SpaceX, in 2002. The name of the company stands for Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.
After using the letter for one of his biggest ventures, Musk began selling the car Model X in his automotive company, Tesla. The model went on commercial sale in 2016 and is recognized as a mid-sized luxury SUV with falcon doors that has the world's largest panoramic windshield and provides seating for up to seven. Speaking about the model, Tim Higgins, author of 'Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century', said, "The idea being that the Tesla models would spell out the word 'sexy.'"
Musk's most recent usage of the letter came as part of the Twitter rebranding where he changed the platform's lifelong bird logo to an "X" icon. Back in April, Twitter's logo was briefly changed to the image Shibu Inu dog, which reportedly boosted the market value of Dogecoin, the popular meme coin, by $4 billion. That same month, Twitter's business partners allegedly received an email that mentioned that the company had been renamed X Corp following a merger.
X Corp may also act as a future parent company for other Musk businesses like Neuralink, SpaceX, Tesla, and The Boring Company, the Daily Mail reported. The latest Twitter logo announcement came nearly two weeks after the mogul launched his new artificial intelligence startup called xAI. The venture will reportedly aim to provide an alternative to ChatGPT.
In addition to his professional endeavors, Musk even incorporated the letter X into his personal life. The SpaceX founder and his ex-partner Grimes made news in 2020 after revealing that their newborn son was named "X Æ A-12." Musk reportedly used X as a nickname for his son. Shortly after, the child's name was changed to "X Æ A-Xii" as his initial name was a violation of California's naming laws related to the usage of alphanumeric characters.
Why did Elon Musk change the Twitter logo?
Twitter has had Larry the bird as its logo since its foundation in 2006. The official website of the platform previously said that the bird was "our most recognizable asset" and explained this was "why we're so protective of it." However, Musk decided to do away with the icon and replaced it with an "X" logo. "Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," Musk recently wrote in reference to new Twitter CEO Yaccarino and the plethora of new changes introduced on the platform.
Reports suggest that the logo change is part of a larger rebranding of the social networking site. Musk reportedly began hinting toward the change in October 2022, right after buying the platform for $44 billion. "'Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," he wrote at the time. The image of the logo was reportedly suggested by Sawyer Merritt, the co-founder of sustainable clothing brand Twin Birch USA, and designed by physics engineer Alex Tourville, the Daily Mail reported.
"He wants to create an app similar to how WeChat is used in China, where it's part of the fabric of day-to-day life. You use it to communicate, to consume news, to buy things, to pay your rent, to book appointments with your doctor and even to pay fines," said author Vance. The domain X.com, which Musk bought from PayPal in 2017, is also redirecting to Twitter. A simple search for X.com on major search engines is also sending users to the Twitter homepage. Musk even took to Twitter to share a photo of himself making the X symbol with his hands, writing, "Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X."
Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X pic.twitter.com/nwB2tEfLr8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023