X Marks the Changes: Twitter’s Transformation Under Elon Musk

Company Rebrand & Vision

In July 2023, Twitter was officially rebranded to X, with a new logo replacing the familiar bird icon. By May 2024, the domain switched to x.com, symbolizing Elon Musk’s bold ambition to evolve the platform into an “everything app”—a hybrid of social media, communication tools, finance, and AI services 

Platform Policy Changes & Free Speech

Musk dismantled the Trust & Safety Council immediately after the acquisition and shifted moderation away from human oversight toward automated, AI-powered tools, intended to preserve “freedom of speech, not reach.”

• Many previously banned accounts were reinstated.
  
  
• Content policies on misinformation and hate speech were softened, sparking spikes in online harassment and disinformation
  
  
• He expanded Community Notes—the crowdsourced fact-checking system formerly known as Birdwatch—as the primary tool for moderation 

Verification System Overhaul

The legacy blue-check system was retired and redefined as a paid benefit.

• Introduced paid tiers: Basic, Premium, Premium+, and Verified Organizations—each offering varying levels of verification, visibility, monetization capabilities, and ad experiences
  
  

Organizational Changes & Layoffs

Musk slashed around 80% of staff, reducing headcount from approximately 8,000 to around 1,500 

• Significant leadership shifts occurred: Musk stepped down as CEO (June 2023), and Linda Yaccarino took over—while Musk remains chairman and CTO
  
  

Subscription Model: Twitter Blue → X Premium

The platform’s monetization model pivoted to a multi-tier subscription structure:

• Basic ($3/month): long posts (25,000 chars), video downloads, bookmarks, icon customization.
  
  
• Premium ($8/month): everything in Basic + ad revenue share, priority replies, media studio tools, AI access, blue checkmark.
  
  
• Premium+ ($22/month): includes all Premium perks with zero ads, long-form content posting, and prioritized exposure
  
  

Algorithm Changes & Content Visibility

• The traditional timeline was split: “For You” (algorithm-driven) and “Following” (chronological)
  PREMIUM content receives additional amplification.
  
  
• Reports confirm boosts to Musk’s own tweets, pro-Republican voices, and state-controlled media content, stirring concerns of algorithmic bias
  
  

Feature Updates & Experiments

• Introduced Articles (long-form posts up to 25,000 characters).
  
  
• Rolled out audio and video calls, group chats, hidden like counts, and UI adjustments for chronological feeds
  
  
• Launched Grok, an AI chatbot integrated into Explore and Premium tiers
  
  
• Added a job search feature labeled X Hiring 

X Money & Expansion of Functionalities

In January 2025, X announced the X Money Account in partnership with Visa—a digital wallet enabling real-time payments, peer-to-peer transfers, and future finance and trading tools 

Removal of Third‑Party Apps, Rate Limits & Blocking Changes

• Third-party apps were restricted, and most legacy API access was moved behind paywalls.
  
  
• API rate limits tightened significantly.
  
  
• The block feature was reworked, shifting the focus to muting rather than outright blocking.
  
  

Organizational & Structural Shifts

Musk implemented slash-and-burn tactics: cutting rent, selling office assets, consolidating control, and emphasizing shorter reporting lines—often at the expense of employee morale and diversity initiatives 

User Engagement & Financial Performance

• Usage trends: App tracking firms report a ~15% drop in usage since Musk's acquisition, although Musk claims growth to 600 million users.
  
  
• Ad revenue: Initially plunged by ~50%, but ad spend rebounded in 2024–25, with ~96% of prior advertisers returning
  
  
• 2023 revenue reached ~$3.4 billion; still largely ad-dependent, with new income flowing from subscriptions, data licensing, and creator monetization.
  
  
• Valuation dropped from ~$44B at acquisition to ~$19B, before climbing back toward $33–45B post-merger with xAI in March 2025
  
  

Videos for More Details

• Company Rebrand and Vision, Management & Revenue Models – watch here

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• X Marks the Changes: Twitter’s Transformation Under Elon Musk – watch here

Summary

Elon Musk’s takeover has fundamentally reshaped Twitter—now  X—across all facets: brand, function, moderation, revenue, and features. It evolved into a convergence of social, AI, finance, and communication services—an “everything app.” While innovation and monetization accelerated, so did controversy: user decline, harassment, misinformation, and regulatory scrutiny lurk alongside new revenue models. The critical test now lies in whether X can continue evolving into a sustainable multipurpose platform.

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What changes have been made to X?

• Rebranding & vision: Formerly Twitter, the platform was rebranded to X in July 2023 (logo change) and shifted its domain to x.com in May 2024. The aim is to evolve into an “everything app,” combining social, communication, finance, AI, and commerce functions 
• Removed legacy features like Circles, NFT avatars, and pronoun personalization
  
  

What does "X marks the spot" signify?

• Symbolically, the “X” logo marks the spot where Twitter’s identity ends and Musk’s expansive vision begins—an ambitious pivot toward a multifaceted platform blending technologies and services
  
  

What happened to X on Twitter?

• Following the name/domain change, Twitter ceased to exist as a brand. All services and content were migrated to X, and new features (Grok AI, X Money) took center stage.
  
  

Why did Twitter rebrand to X?

• Musk’s rationale: the bird logo and “Twitter” name were limiting as the platform expands beyond microblogging—thus, “X” was chosen to reflect a broader vision and future opportunities 

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