To no one’s surprise, X, or the platform formerly known as Twitter, not-so-swiftly but still forcefully took over the handle @X on Wednesday, three days after owner Elon Musk rashly decided to roll out the new branding.
The handle’s original owner, Gene X Hwang, told TechCrunch that the company took over his account without reaching out to him beforehand and without financial compensation. He was later notified in a letter that the handle is the property of X Corp. They then thanked him for his loyalty and offered some X merch as well as a tour of the X headquarters, as “a reflection of our appreciation.”
“I did always feel like this was something that could happen,” Hwang told TechCrunch. “It would have been nice for them to compensate for it since it did have a lot of value to me, but things are what they are.”
Hwang told the tech news outlet that he’s fine with how things turned out, the sentiment is reflected in a tweet he posted on his new account.
This is just the latest mishap in Twitter’s transition to X. Musk, almost as if by impulse, initiated the rebranding through a series of tweets over the weekend. By Monday, the platform was already sporting its “interim logo.” It happened so fast that they seemed to have failed to secure a trademark prior to the announcement.
On the same day, they also attempted to take down the Twitter signage at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, only to be stopped by city officials over permit issues.
Information for this story was found via TechCrunch, Twitter, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
