In a surprising move, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in October, has revealed his intention to overhaul the social media platform’s branding and logo.
Musk took to Twitter at 12:06 am ET (0406 GMT) to announce that the iconic Twitter bird logo will be bid farewell and gradually phased out.
The Tesla CEO shared an image of a flickering “X” as a potential replacement for the current logo.
In a Twitter Spaces audio chat later, when asked if the logo would indeed change, Musk responded with a resounding “Yes,” expressing his belief that such a rebranding should have been done long ago.
Under Musk’s tumultuous tenure, Twitter has already undergone significant changes, including a name change to X Corp, a foreign media reported.
The new name aligns with Musk’s ambitious vision to transform Twitter into a “super app” akin to China’s WeChat, offering a more comprehensive range of services and functionalities.
The potential logo change comes on the heels of Twitter’s temporary replacement of its bird logo with the Shiba Inu dog, the mascot of the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
The move played a part in driving a surge in Dogecoin’s market value, garnering mixed reactions from users and marketing professionals alike.
However, not all of Musk’s decisions have been met with enthusiasm.
Earlier this month, Twitter faced backlash when Musk announced the implementation of daily tweet limits for various accounts, a move that sparked the rapid growth of Meta-owned rival service Threads. Threads managed to attract over 100 million sign-ups within just five days of its launch.
Adding to the company’s woes, Twitter is currently facing a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, asserting that the firm owes a staggering $500 million in severance pay to former employees.
Since Musk’s acquisition, the company has undertaken significant cost-cutting measures, leading to the layoff of more than half its workforce.
Despite the mounting challenges, Twitter remains tight-lipped about Musk’s latest branding plans and has yet to respond to media requests for comment.
Twitter’s website describes its blue bird logo as its “most recognizable asset” and emphasizes its protectiveness over it. With the impending logo change and rebranding, it remains to be seen how users and the public will react to the platform’s transformation under Musk’s leadership.