Still Call X Twitter? Don't Worry, Elon Musk Does It Too

Zinger Key Points
  • Twitter's rebranding to X, a decision by Elon Musk, has seen mixed reactions from analysts and users.
  • Musk still refers to the platform as Twitter, based on comments in a recent interview.

Elon Musk acquired social media platform Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, a deal that was among the biggest talking points during the year and continues to be a big topic in 2023.

What Happened: Since acquiring Twitter, Musk made several changes including rebranding the social media platform to X, a name near and dear to the billionaire.

The rebrand drew mixed reactions with many users of the platform saying they would never stop calling Twitter by its original name.

Many still refer to the platform as Twitter and posts on the platform as tweets, including the owner and man behind the name change.

“They’ve said it on Twitter, you know X, formerly known as Twitter,” Musk recently said during a virtual appearance at the All-In Summit.

The comment from Musk got a good laugh from the in-person crowd and the All-In hosts Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg.

Musk also laughed at his slip of the name.

Later in the interview, Musk referred to the social media site as “the X/Twitter platform.”

Musk also referenced the site as Twitter at least once more.

Related Link: Elon Musk Shares Reasons For Not Helping Ukraine In Surprise Attack: 'They Were Asking Us To Take Part In A Major Act Of War' 

What’s Next: Despite the name slip, Musk had many positive things to say about the platform formerly known as Twitter and now known as X.

“We’ve recently seen an increase in advertising, which is great,” Musk said.

Musk added Twitter will be in good financial shape if this trend continues.

Going forward, Musk said there will be future developments made at a more rapid pace, which are being done with fewer people than before he acquired the platform.

Musk made reference to the lower employee count on several occasions during his interview.

“I don’t think you need an army to maintain a group chat.”

Musk added that the people still at the company are very productive and helping the platform see record usage.

The podcast hosts also asked Musk about the decision to pay out revenue share to creators on the platform.

Musk said if you’re a creator, you need to make a living for what you’re doing, whether it is writing, pictures or video.

Similar to YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL, Musk said Twitter is paying out revenue share of advertising to its creators.

“We’re not really inventing anything new. We’re doing rev share with advertising.”

Musk said the goal is to keep people on the Twitter platform, with higher potential payouts and metrics for videos and posts that are made on Twitter, as opposed to links that go to articles and videos on other platforms.

Twitter is trying to optimize for user time on the platform, Musk added.

Musk said a lot of people tell him they spend a lot of time on TikTok and they regret it. Musk has a goal of Twitter being a place where people learn a lot, are entertained and don’t regret spending time there.

Read Next: Exclusive: Cathie Wood Backs 'Elon Cool' Twitter Rebrand, Tells Haters 'Truth Will Win Out' 

Photo: Shutterstock
 

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