Elon Musk's 'X'-traordinary Decision: Twitter Logo Makeover on Cards After Adieu to 'All the Birds'

In a stunning announcement, Elon Musk on Sunday revealed his plan to change Twitter’s logo as part of a rebranding strategy for the social media platform, aiming to create a “super app” like China’s WeChat. Twitter’s billionaire owner shared in a post, “And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

Further elaborating his plans, Musk said, “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make (it) go live worldwide tomorrow.”

Musk shared an image of a flickering “X” and, during a Twitter Spaces audio chat, responded with a “Yes” when asked if the Twitter logo will change. “It should have been done a long time ago,” he added.

Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October, the company has experienced a tumultuous tenure, with a change of its business name to X Corp. The move reflects the billionaire’s vision to develop a “super app” akin to China’s WeChat.

While no official statement has been issued following Musk’s tweets, Twitter’s website says its logo, depicting a blue bird, is “our most recognizable asset”. “That’s why we’re so protective of it,” it added.

In April, the Twitter bird was temporarily replaced by Dogecoin’s Shiba Inu dog, contributing to a surge in the meme coin’s market value.

The company faced widespread criticism from users and marketing professionals after Musk announced earlier this month that Twitter would impose daily limits on how many tweets various accounts can read.

These daily limits contributed to the growth of Meta-owned rival service Threads, which surpassed 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch.

Twitter’s most recent challenge came in the form of a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, alleging that the firm owes at least $500 million in severance pay to former employees. Since Musk’s acquisition, the company has laid off over half its workforce as part of cost-cutting measures.

Turbulent Times

Since its acquisition by Musk last October, Twitter has experienced a significant decline in advertising revenue, losing almost half of its previous earnings, its owner announced last month.

Despite expectations of increased sales in June, the company did not witness the anticipated growth. However, there is optimism for improvement in July.

He said the company had not seen the increase in sales that had been expected in June, but added that July was a “bit more promising”.

The Meta-designed platform, Threads, benefits from its in-built connection to Instagram, granting access to a potential two billion users.

Nevertheless, Twitter is grappling with substantial debt. Musk disclosed negative cash flow and did not specify a timeframe for the 50 per cent drop in ad revenue.

In a tweet he said: “Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.”

Lucy Coutts, investment director at JM Finn, told the BBC that Musk has the potential to turn Twitter around, but acknowledges that it may take more time.

With $13 billion of debt due by the end of July, there could be additional pressure on Tesla’s shares if Musk needs to sell more of his stake in the electric car-maker, according to reports.

(With inputs from Reuters)