Elon Musk has announced a significant milestone for his rebranded platform, X, which was formerly known as Twitter. On Friday, Musk revealed that the social media site has surpassed 540 million monthly users, a notable increase from the 229 million active users reported in May 2022. Since acquiring the platform in November 2022, Musk has implemented various changes, including the reduction of nearly half of the staff and the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as CEO. This rebranding is part of Musk’s broader strategy as X continues to face challenges in generating advertisement revenue.
In conjunction with the rebrand, the mobile application icons for X on Android and iOS have been updated to feature the letter ‘X.’ Users will also notice that what was previously known as tweets have now been redefined as posts. The current version of the app for certain Android devices is labeled ‘X Beta,’ although the underlying apk file remains titled com.twitter.android. The update on Apple’s iOS devices reflects the new logo, but retains the old name.
The revamped X app for Android has also altered the “Tweet” button located in the bottom right corner of the homepage, now labeled “Post.” This shift underscores Musk’s intention to move away from traditional Twitter branding, bringing him closer to his vision of creating an “Everything App.”
However, the rebranding initiative may encounter legal challenges. The letter X is commonly utilized across various industries, which could lead to potential trademark disputes. For instance, Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, holds a federal trademark for a blue-and-white letter “X” that covers software and social media, registered in 2019. Additionally, Microsoft has owned an X trademark since 2003 related to its Xbox video game system.
Legal experts indicate that companies might refrain from pursuing lawsuits unless they perceive that X threatens their brand equity associated with the letter. Notably, Meta itself faced legal issues when it transitioned from Facebook to Meta, resulting in a settlement with investment firm Metacapital and virtual-reality company MetaX regarding the infinity-symbol logo.
Elon Musk, Twitter, X, Tesla, Social Media, Meta, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, Android, iOS
