Twitter owner Elon Musk announced this weekend that his social media platform will soon move away from its recognizable bird logo.
Musk posted a series of tweets late Saturday indicating a move away from the birds in favor of the letter “X.” His initial tweet said “Paint It Black,” followed by a poll asking users to vote on whether to change the platform’s default color to black. As of publication, roughly 75% voted for the switch.
“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk tweeted.
Twitter users might not have to wait too long for the change as Musk also posted, “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight,” it could go live as early as Monday.
In addition, he gave an indication of what the logo might look like, sharing an image of Twitter’s current logo but set on a faded black background instead of the usual light blue. Musk’s caption of the image said, “Like this but X,” and a follow-up tweet said, “To embody the imperfections in us all that make us unique.”
In possibly the closest indication of what the new logo and branding might look like, Musk posted an image of a flickering X, though the image had no caption and it is not clear if that could be the new logo.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Another tweet from Musk mentioned the new logo would be “closest in style” to art deco.
“Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X,” Musk tweeted with an image of himself gesturing “X” in front of a Tesla backdrop.
Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X pic.twitter.com/nwB2tEfLr8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
According to The Guardian, after posting the image, Musk was asked in a Twitter Spaces whether the logo would change, to which he replied affirmatively and said, “It should have been done a long time ago.”
In April, a legal filing revealed that the name Twitter, Inc. had been replaced by X Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported. “Twitter Inc. has been merged into X Corp. and no longer exists,” the filing said.
During an April interview with the BBC, Musk revealed his goal was to make Twitter into something much bigger than it currently is. “My goal is to create X, the everything app,” Musk said. “That’s what we’re working towards … Twitter is an accelerant to X, the everything app.”
Musk purchased the platform in October in a deal worth $44 billion. Since then, he’s made numerous changes to the platform. Many of his decisions appear to have been influenced by user feedback and poll results, including the reinstatement of former President Donald Trump’s account.