X’s Tumultuous Journey: From Elon Musk’s Acquisition to Rebranding and Beyond
The Billionaire’s Vision for a Public Platform
In a dramatic turn of events, Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla and SpaceX, acquired Twitter (now rebranded as X) in October 2022. Driven by a desire to create a public platform that fosters trust and inclusivity, Musk declared at a TED conference:
“This is just my strong, intuitive sense that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization. I don’t care about the economics at all.”
A Rollercoaster Ride of Challenges and Changes
Despite his initial enthusiasm, Musk’s journey with X has been far from smooth. From attempting to back out of the $44 billion deal due to concerns over spam bots to facing a chaotic legal discovery process that exposed embarrassing texts, the billionaire’s path to ownership was riddled with obstacles.
Since taking the company private, X has undergone significant transformations, including verification chaos, API access shakeups, ban reversals, massive layoffs, and a major rebranding from Twitter to X. Musk also transitioned from his role as CEO to serving as the platform’s executive chair and CTO, with NBCU‘s Linda Yaccarino stepping in as the new X CEO in May 2023.
X Enters Year Two: A Timeline of Recent Developments
As X enters its second year under Musk’s ownership, the platform continues to make headlines. Here’s a timeline of the most recent events:
March 2024
- Former CNN anchor Don Lemon announces that Elon Musk has canceled the deal for his upcoming talk show on X, just hours after interviewing Musk for the first episode.
- X plans to launch a YouTube-like streaming app for Samsung and Amazon smart TVs, allowing users to watch videos on larger screens.
- X Premium+ subscribers and verified organizations can now publish longer posts on the platform, similar to blog posts or Medium articles.
- X launches audio and video calling, raising privacy concerns as the feature is switched on by default and can leak users’ IP addresses.
- Four former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, sue Elon Musk, alleging they are owed over $128 million in severance payments.
February 2024
- X Corp goes to court against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) after accusing the extremism research organization of “actively working to assert false and misleading claims about X” in a lawsuit last year.
As X continues to evolve under Musk’s leadership, the platform remains a topic of intense scrutiny and speculation, with the world watching to see what the future holds for this influential social media giant.
X Faces Legal Challenges and Compliance Issues Amidst Ongoing Changes
Nonprofit Sues X Over Alleged Breach of Contract
The Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit formed in 2018 to research and track hate speech, extremism, and misinformation on social media platforms, has filed a lawsuit against X. A judge has hinted that the suit may be dismissed.
X Withholds Accounts and Tweets in India to Comply with Executive Orders
In response to executive orders issued by the Indian government, X said it is withholding specific accounts and posts in India. While the company disagrees with the action, noncompliance would have subjected them to potential penalties, including significant fines and imprisonment.
Advertising and Betting Partnerships on X
Advertisers to Run Ads Next to Curated List of Creators
X will soon allow advertisers to run ads next to select content creators, ensuring their ads don’t appear alongside controversial or offensive content. This move follows an exodus of numerous brands from X last year after their ads appeared next to pro-Nazi content.
X Partners with BetMGM to Introduce Sports Betting
X has partnered with BetMGM, making it the platform’s exclusive Live Odds Sports Betting partner. Initially, U.S. users will be able to explore betting odds on pro football, with more professional and college sports to be added over time.
X’s Popularity and User Demographics
X Becomes Top App Following Announcement of Tucker Carlson-Putin Interview
After Tucker Carlson announced he would be interviewing Russian president Vladimir Putin on X, downloads of the app sent it to the top of the U.S. App Store overnight. Appfigures estimates that X gained 117,000 new downloads on Tuesday, up from 93,000 the day before.
X CEO Claims 90M US Users, Less Than 1% Are Teens
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on kids’ online safety, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, stated that less than 1% of the app’s U.S. users were teens aged 13 through 17. She also claimed that there were 90 million X users in the U.S., a drop from the reported 95.4 million estimated users as of January 2023.
Moderation and Safety Measures on X
X to Hire 100 Moderators in Austin
X announced plans to staff a new “Trust and Safety” center in Austin, which will include 100 full-time content moderators. This move comes more than a year after Elon Musk acquired the company, during which time he drastically reduced headcount, including trust and safety teams, moderators, engineers, and other staff.
Taylor Swift Fans Strike Back Against Explicit Deepfakes on X
Nonconsensual deepfake porn of Taylor Swift went viral on X, with one post garnering more than 45 million views before it was removed. In response, Swifties organized a fandom-driven campaign to bury the AI-generated content searched under terms “taylor swift ai” or “taylor swift deepfake.”
Changes to X’s Features and Future Plans
X Removes Support for NFT Profile Pictures
X quietly removed the ability for paid subscribers to set an NFT as their profile picture. The feature, originally launched by previous management in January 2022, allowed Twitter Blue subscribers to set NFTs minted on Ethereum as custom hexagonal profile pictures. It’s unclear if X will remove existing NFT profile pictures as well.
X Promises Peer-to-Peer Payments and AI Advances in 2024
In a blog post, X claimed it will launch peer-to-peer payments this year to unlock “more user utility and new opportunities for commerce.” The company also stated that AI would be used to “increasingly power the X user and advertising experience” in search, ads, and a forthcoming “See Dissimilar Posts” feature.
Journalists Critical of Elon Musk Temporarily Suspended on X
X’s Tumultuous Journey: Suspensions, Valuations, and New Features
In a controversial move, X briefly suspended the accounts of several journalists, commentators, and podcasters who had been critical of Elon Musk. Among those affected were Steven Monacelli from The Texas Observer, Ken Klippenstein from The Intercept, Alan MacLeod from MintPress News, and The TrueAnon podcast. The accounts were reinstated a few hours later. X experimented with displaying headlines at the bottom of link preview cards using a small font. Users reported seeing titles on link cards on the web, with some being cut off due to character limits. The company initially pulled the new format hours after its introduction but later brought it back. X’s “Verified Organizations” program now offers a $200 per month tier aimed at small businesses. This basic tier follows the launch of the $1,000 per month offering for businesses on the platform. Mutual fund company Fidelity marked down its investment in X holdings by 71.5% from the original valuation of shares. Fidelity had spent $19.2 million to acquire a stake in X in October 2022 and made a valuation cut of 65% a year later. Musk announced that X will be bringing video to Spaces to encourage users to engage with their audience without relying on third-party platforms. The feature is expected to launch by the end of the year or early next year. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his media site Infowars are back on X after being “permanently banned” by the previous management in 2018. Musk ran a poll asking whether it was appropriate to bring Jones back, with nearly 70% of the 2 million voters supporting the decision. Vox Populi, Vox Dei. ‘Grok,’ xAI’s “rebellious” AI chatbot, has rolled out to all U.S. X Premium+ subscribers. Musk cautioned that the beta would face many issues but would be steadily improved. English language users who subscribe to Premium+ are expected to gain access to Grok in about a week. Musk is moving forward with his plans to transform X into a payments platform. The company was granted three additional money transmitter licenses in South Dakota, Kansas, and Wyoming, bringing the total number of states where it can engage in money transfers to 12. A report by the Financial Times indicates that X will turn to small and medium-sized businesses for advertising revenue after losing major advertisers. The company aims to attract these businesses with its lower-priced advertising options. Following the departure of major brands due to Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post, X is now focusing on attracting small and medium-sized advertisers to bolster its revenue. X has filed a defamation lawsuit against Media Matters, alleging false claims that ads from companies like IBM, Apple, and Oracle appeared alongside antisemitic content. “The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and all those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company,” Musk said. After removing headlines from URL preview cards in October, X will reportedly start displaying them again. Musk stated that an update will overlay the headline in the upper portion of the image in a URL card, without specifying a timeline for the rollout. In an upcoming release, 𝕏 will overlay title in the upper potion of the image of a URL card — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2023 Numerous prominent advertisers, including Apple, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, IBM, Paramount Global, Lionsgate, European Commission, Walmart, and The Zero Byte, paused their ad spending on X after Musk amplified antisemitic conspiracy theories. X also lost a high-profile brand campaign with Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, which would have seen Hilton promoting key X features over a two-year period. At the DealBook conference, Musk told advertisers who recently paused their ad spending on X to “go fuck yourself.” X CEO Linda Yaccarino later publicly backed Musk and his remarks. In its quest to become an “everything app,” X has introduced a new job search feature. Verified Organizations can post job listings that users can search by keyword and location. X plans to add more sophisticated filtering tools, job recommendations, and the ability to bookmark roles in the future. Independent non-profit Check My Ads filed a formal complaint with the FTC, urging an investigation into X’s advertising practices, including the lack of disclosure about which posts are ads. X’s For You feed has been updated to surface posts from smaller accounts instead of popular and trending posts from its broader network, according to an X post by Elon Musk. Conservative media nonprofit PragerU promoted the hashtag “#DETRANS” to advertise
This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform, and bot activity while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. It is not a profit driver. According to a report by Similarweb, a market intelligence firm, X’s global site traffic decreased by 14% year-over-year in September, with U.S. traffic down by 19%. The platform also experienced a 17.8% year-over-year decline in monthly active users on iOS and Android devices in the U.S. Admins of private Communities on X can now require users to answer a question when requesting to join, in addition to agreeing to the group’s rules. This new feature aims to help admins and moderators decide who should be allowed to join and provide protection against spammers and bots. X has made several updates to its Community Notes fact-checking system after it took multiple days to correct misinformation related to the Israel-Hamas war. The changes include: X has removed the requirement of having at least 100,000 followers for posts to be considered newsworthy. The updated policy states that posts by “a high-profile account” count as newsworthy, although the definition of a “high-profile account” remains unclear. X has introduced a new control that allows users, including those without a premium subscription, to limit replies to their posts to only verified accounts. This feature expands on previous reply-limiting options introduced in 2020 and 2021. X CEO Linda Yaccarino discussed plans to test three premium tiers during a briefing with X debt holders on October 5th. While the launch date remains unknown, code references found in the X app by @aaronp613 suggest “Premium Basic,” “Premium Standard,” and “Premium Plus” plans, offering full ads, half the ads, or no ads, respectively. X has removed headlines from link previews, displaying only an image with the domain name in the bottom left corner. This change is part of Elon Musk’s efforts to encourage users to post “long-form content” directly on the platform rather than clicking out to external sites. X Corp., owned by Elon Musk, is facing a trademark lawsuit from a social media ad agency that has been using the “X” mark for over 20 years. The case highlights the potential legal challenges associated with rebranding Twitter to X. In a groundbreaking legal battle, X Social Media, a Florida-based social media ad agency, has filed a lawsuit against X Corp, formerly known as Twitter, over alleged trademark infringement. The agency, represented by attorney Josh Gerben and his firm, claims to have used the “X Social Media” mark in commerce since early 2016 and has invested significantly in building brand recognition. X has announced that it will be shutting down its Circles feature on October 31st, 2023. After this date, users will no longer be able to create new posts limited to their Circle or add people to their Circle. However, they will still be able to remove people from their Circle by unfollowing them, as outlined on X’s support page. Tech veteran-turned-investor Chris Messina has uncovered new code in the X app, revealing that both audio and video calls will be supported. However, this feature will only be available to those with an X Premium membership. In a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, X Owner Elon Musk suggested that the platform may move to a “small monthly payment” for users. Musk described the potential subscription fee as a “small amount of money” and indicated that such a change would be necessary to combat the issue of bots on the platform. X has partnered with Israel-based Au10tix to launch government ID-based account verification for paid users. This feature aims to prevent impersonation and provide benefits such as prioritized support. Au10tix may store the verification data for up to 30 days. The Zero Byte discovered that X has been running unlabeled ads in users’ Following feeds, making them harder to spot among other posts from followed accounts. It remains unclear whether this is a glitch or a deliberate change in X’s advertising platform. X has updated its terms of service, effective from September 29, to ban any kind of scraping or crawling without prior written consent. The previous version of the terms allowed crawling in accordance with robots.txt. X has expanded its Community Notes program, a crowdsourced moderation system, to include videos. Notes attached to a video by contributors will now appear in all posts featuring that video. Starting September 29, X will begin collecting users’ biometric information, education, and job history, as stated in its updated privacy policy. The company has not provided specific details on what biometric information it will collect or how it plans to collect it. Paid users on X now have the ability to hide their Likes tab under profile customization settings. This move comes after rival social networks Threads and Bluesky introduced similar features. X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has confirmed its decision to lift the ban on paid political ads. This move, which was committed to earlier this year shortly after Elon Musk’s acquisition, reverses the original ban implemented in 2019 under former CEO Jack Dorsey’s leadership. In an effort to attract advertisers, X has announced a limited-time offer of a $250 ad credit for select businesses that spend $1,000 or more on new ad campaigns within the next 30 days. X is making changes to its API, discontinuing some endpoints and migrating others to the new v2 API. The company is also retiring the legacy Essential and Elevated tiers, requiring customers to transition to the new tier system. Elon Musk has confirmed plans to introduce a new way of displaying news links without headlines or descriptions, aiming to “greatly improve the aesthetics.” This change would result in posts featuring only an image and a link, potentially impacting how users engage with shared articles. Elon Musk has announced that the ‘block’ feature will be removed, except for direct messages (DMs). “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” Elon Musk wrote on X. “Makes no sense.” X has introduced a new sorting method for posts on user profiles when viewed by logged-out users. Instead of the traditional chronological order, posts are now sorted by performance based on like counts. This change also affects the visibility of pinned posts, which no longer appear at the top of the profile feed when logged out. X has begun rolling out a new ‘Highlights’ tab for subscribers, which is now available to all paid users according to the updated support page. X Pro, formerly known as TweetDeck, is now exclusively accessible to subscribers. This change aligns with the company’s earlier announcement that TweetDeck would be limited to verified users within 30 days, although the implementation was slightly delayed. X has reduced the requirements for its creator ad revenue sharing program. Creators who have garnered 5 million impressions in the last three months are now eligible, down from the previous requirement of 15 million impressions. Additionally, the minimum withdrawal amount has been lowered from $50 to $10. To qualify, users must still be verified and have at least 500 followers. In her first broadcast interview since taking on the role, X CEO Linda Yaccarino stated that the company is close to breaking even after just eight weeks under her leadership. “Our data licensing and API with X is an incredible business. Our new subscription business [is] growing,” Yaccarino said. “And then, part of my, what I would say, expertise and experience, and what I came to do, was to drive advertising at the company.” In her inaugural TV interview as CEO, Linda Yaccarino revealed that video calls will be integrated into X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of the platform’s evolution into an all-encompassing application. Since January, X has been collaborating with Integral Ad Science to provide advertisers with information about the appropriateness of content surrounding their ads. The partnership has now expanded to include sensitivity settings, driven by machine learning algorithms, allowing advertisers to select their preferred thresholds for ad placement. According to X owner Elon Musk, advertisers can secure these less desirable, “relaxed” sensitivity ad slots at a lower cost. Brands have the ability to minimize adjacency to explicit content, such as gore, profanity, obscenity, targeted hate speech, sexual content, drugs, and spam. X will soon introduce a “relaxed” setting, offering more affordable advertising opportunities while only filtering out targeted hate speech and explicit sexual content. The @music account, previously managed by software developer Jeremy Vaught for 16 years and amassing around half a million followers, has been taken over by X. Vaught expressed his frustration, stating: Super pissed. He shared a screenshot of the email X sent him informing him of the change. X has simplified its crowdsourced fact-checking system, Community Notes. The feature previously provided users with information about why a fact check was attached to a tweet. After three years of development, X has decided to remove this additional context for experienced Community Notes users. X has renamed TweetDeck to XPro and adopted the @Pro handle for the tool. However, many aspects of the tool, including the help page, still contain references to “Twitter” and “TweetDeck.” Musk hinted at the change a week earlier, mentioning that XPro will include a “wide range of psy op plugins,” although no further details were provided. Paid verification, introduced last year with the relaunch of Twitter Blue (now XBlue), allows users to hide their checkmarks. This option can be found in the “Profile customization” section of account settings. X has updated the help page for paid subscriptions, indicating that even if the checkmark is hidden, it may still be visible in certain places, although no specific details were provided. For those who prefer the classic Twitter app icon on iOS, here’s a step-by-step guide: Despite typically not allowing single-character app names, Apple made an exception for the Twitter app’s rebrand to X in the App Store. X also updated its App Store tagline from “Let’s talk.” to “Blaze Your Glory!!” Musk tweeted this tagline without any additional context. X announced the global availability of its “Ads Revenue Sharing” program for eligible creators. According to Musk’s posts, the program aims to distribute $5 million in the initial round of creator payments. In a bold move, Twitter has officially replaced its iconic bird logo with the letter ‘X’ as part of an ongoing rebranding effort spearheaded by owner Elon Musk. The change, announced over the weekend of July 22, also saw the domain x.com redirecting to twitter.com. Musk referred to the current logo as an “interim” one, hinting at the possibility of further logo changes in the future. As part of the rebranding, Twitter’s official handle has been changed to @x. The original @Twitter handle is now inactive, with its bio stating, “This account is no longer active. Follow @x for updates.” However, the transition was not without controversy. Gene X Hwang, the original owner of the @x handle and founder of the corporate photography and videography studio Orange Photography, revealed to The Zero Byte that the company took over his account without prior warning or financial compensation, informing him that the handle is now the property of X. https://t.co/bOUOek5Cvy now points to https://t.co/AYBszklpkE. Interim X logo goes live later today. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023 In addition to the rebranding, Twitter is preparing to launch a job listing feature. Although not yet officially announced, some verified organizations, such as @workweekinc and @bloomtech, have already begun posting job listings under their bios. These listings direct applicants to the company’s website, where they can find more information about the position and submit an application. Another feature that appears to be making a comeback is Twitter Notes, which allows users to publish long-form content. Elon Musk confirmed the company’s plans to support long-form articles with mixed media in response to a user’s tweet claiming that the Twitter Notes project had been rebranded as “Articles.” As Twitter continues its transformation into X, users can expect further changes and developments in the platform’s features and functionality. With the introduction of job listings and the revival of long-form content support, X aims to expand its offerings and attract a broader user base. The rebranding marks a significant shift in the company’s identity, and it remains to be seen how users and advertisers will respond to the new direction.Journalists and Commentators Temporarily Suspended
Link Previews Undergo Changes
Verified Organizations Program Introduces $200 Tier
Fidelity Marks Down X’s Valuation
Video Coming to Spaces
Alex Jones and Infowars Return to X
xAI’s Chatbot ‘Grok’ Launches to Premium+ Subscribers
X Obtains Payment Processing Licenses in 12 U.S. States
X to Focus on Small and Medium-Sized Business Advertising
X Faces Challenges and Controversies Amidst Musk’s Leadership
X Targets Smaller Advertisers After Big Brands Flee
X Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Media Matters
X to Reintroduce Headlines in Link Previews
High-Profile Advertisers Pause Spending After Musk’s Antisemitic Post Endorsement
X Launches Job Search Tool
FTC Complaint Filed Against X Over Unlabeled Ads
X Updates Algorithm to Highlight Smaller Accounts
X Runs ‘Timeline Takeover’ Ad Promoting Anti-Trans Film
Declining Traffic and Monthly Active Users
Private Communities Introduce Member Vetting
Updates to Community Notes
Redefining Newsworthiness in Public Interest Expectations
Limiting Replies to Verified Users
Testing Three Premium Tiers
Removal of Headlines from Link Previews
Trademark Lawsuit Against X Corp.
X Social Media Sues X Corp Over Trademark Infringement
X Announces Upcoming Changes and Features
Deprecation of Circles Feature
Audio and Video Calls for Premium Subscribers
Potential Shift to Paid Subscription Model
Government ID-Based Account Verification
Advertising and Content Moderation Updates
Unlabeled Ads in Users’ Following Feeds
Ban on Scraping and Crawling
Community Notes for Videos
Privacy Policy Changes
Collection of Biometric Data, Education, and Job History
Option to Hide Likes for Paid Users
X’s Evolving Landscape: Navigating Changes and Opportunities
Lifting the Ban on Political Ads
Enticing Advertisers with Ad Credits
API Updates and Legacy Endpoint Retirement
Streamlining News Link Aesthetics
Farewell to the ‘Block’ Feature
Sorting Posts by Like Counts for Logged-Out Users
Introducing the ‘Highlights’ Tab for Paid Users
X Pro Becomes Subscriber-Only
Lowering the Bar for Creator Payouts
X CEO Claims Near Break-Even Status
X Unveils Exciting New Features and Partnerships
Video Calls Coming to X
X Enhances Ad Placement with Integral Ad Science
X’s Acquisition of @music Handle Suggests Potential Music Plans
Streamlining Community Notes on X
TweetDeck Rebranded as XPro
Paid Users on X Can Now Hide Their Checkmarks
July 2023 Updates
Reverting to the Old Twitter App Icon on iOS
Apple Approves Twitter App’s Rebrand to X
X Launches Global Ad Revenue Sharing Program
X Marks the Spot: Twitter Undergoes Rebranding
Official Handle Change and Controversy
Upcoming Features: Job Listings and Long-Form Content
The Future of X
3 Comments
Think it’s a game changer or a disaster waiting to happen? Musk’s era at Twitter keeps us guessing.
Elon’s roller-coaster year at Twitter, truly the billionaire’s playground, wouldn’t you say
Elon’s Twitter circus — you can’t deny it’s been a heck of a ride!