# Twitter rebrands as X

> X replaced Twitter’s bird and prompted 24 complaints about its rooftop sign.

- Owner: X Corp. / Elon Musk
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2023-07-23
- Peak proxy date: 2023-07-24
- Date basis: Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 35 (Niche), v1.3
- Mechanics: Brand pile-on, Real-world spectacle, Controversy, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Musk solicited an X logo and shared Merritt’s video before Twitter’s bird was replaced. Brands parodied the change as coverage followed the headquarters signs and app renaming. Reviews soured; initial install gains preceded later declines.

## Timeline

- 2023-07-23 — Elon Musk (X) — Musk announced plans to retire Twitter’s name and bird logo and solicited an X design.
- 2023-07-23 — Sawyer Merritt (X) — Merritt posted an X-logo video quoting Musk’s call for designs at 04:29 UTC.
- 2023-07-23 — Elon Musk (X) — Musk shared Merritt’s X-logo clip at 04:57 UTC.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/mcp#api).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/twitter-x-rebrand

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Twitter rebrands as X.” Case HIS-01696. Spread Score v1.3: 35/100. Updated 2026-10-25. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01696