X

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X Corp.
Type Subsidiary
Industry
Predecessor(s) Twitter, Inc.
Founder(s) Elon Musk
Area served Worldwide
Key people
Services Twitter, currently rebranding to X
Owner(s) Elon Musk (74%)[1]
Employees c. 1,500{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Circa with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | i | lk | sortable }} (August 2023)[2]
Parent X Holdings Corp.
Website Template:Official URL

X Corp. is an American technology company established by Elon Musk in 2023 as the successor to Twitter, Inc. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of X Holdings Corp., which is itself owned by Musk. The company owns the social networking service Twitter (currently rebranding to X) and has announced plans to use it as a base for other offerings.[3][4]

History

Conceptualization and planning (2022–2023)

Main articles: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk and Twitter under Elon Musk

In April 2022, filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed Musk had formed three corporate entities in Delaware, all under the name of X Holdings. According to the filings, one of the entities was to merge with Twitter, Inc., while another was to serve as the parent company of the newly merged company. A third entity would then help take on a Template:USD billion loan provided by various large banks to acquire Twitter.[5]

The name "X" dates back to X.com, an online bank co-founded by Musk in 1999. In March 2000, X.com merged with competitor Confinity to create PayPal.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn|template=sfn}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfn with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }} Musk considered forming a holding company named "X" for Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX in August 2012.[6] In July 2017, Musk reacquired the domain X.com, for an undisclosed amount, from PayPal.[7] Musk reaffirmed his support for the name "X" in December 2020, replying to a Twitter user who renewed calls for Musk to form a new holding company under that name, although he dismissed the idea of X acquiring his businesses.[8]

The concept for X solidified in October 2022, when Musk tweeted that acquiring Twitter is "an accelerant to creating X, the everything app". According to Musk, Twitter would accelerate the creation of X by "3 to 5 years". Musk expressed interest in creating an app similar to WeChat—a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app—on a podcast in May 2022.[9] In June, Musk told Twitter employees that Twitter is a "digital town square" that should be all-encompassing, like WeChat.[10] In a Morgan Stanley conference in March 2023, Musk touted X once again as the potentially "biggest financial institution in the world".[11] On October 27, 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, and subsequently became its CEO.[12]

Formation (2023–present)

In March 2023, Musk registered X Corp. in Nevada. On the same day, Musk registered the artificial intelligence (AI) company X.AI.[13] Later that month, Musk applied to merge X Holdings I with X Holdings Corp. and Twitter, Inc. with X Corp.[5] In the filing, Musk revealed that X Holdings Corp. has $2 million in capital; X Holdings Corp. will also serve as the parent company for X Corp.[14] In a company-wide email that month, Musk announced that Twitter employees will receive stock in X Corp.[15]

In an April 2023 court filing for an ongoing lawsuit filed by political activist Laura Loomer against Twitter and its former CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter, Inc. notified the court that it had been consolidated into X Corp., a Nevada corporation based in Carson City. A similar filing was made in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.[16]

On May 11, 2023, Musk tweeted that he had found his replacement as Twitter and X Corp.'s CEO. The next day, on May 12, he named Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO, adding that she "will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology".[17] Musk said he will transition his role to executive chairman and chief technology officer.[18] Yaccarino succeeded Musk on June 5, 2023.[19]

At the end of May 2023, Fidelity Investments estimated the company's value at $15 billion.[20] This was later increased to a value of $27 billion by July,[21][22] and up to about $28.5 billion by the end of August.[23][24]

The company erected a giant illuminated "X" on the roof of its San Francisco headquarters in July 2023 without obtaining required permits. 24 complaints were filed by neighbors concerned about the bright flashing light and structural integrity. Inspectors were twice denied roof access, and the city cited the company for a building code violation. X removed the sign after a few days.[25][26]

In August 2023, CEO Linda Yaccarino stated that she has "operational autonomy" under owner Elon Musk to run the business, and that she's involved in everything that goes into running the company.[27][28] Yaccarino also opened up on the reasoning behind Twitter's "controversial" name change to X,[29] wherein she stated that the rebranding was essentially a "liberation" from Twitter. Yaccarino also went on to say that if users had stayed with Twitter, then changes would only be "incremental" and that with X, they think about "what's possible".[30]

On August 19, 2023, Elon Musk posted a tweet on Twitter stating that the "Block" feature would be deleted on the platform, with the exception of direct messaging.[31][32] Musk suggested that a stronger version of "Mute" would replace the "Block" function.[33] In response to backlash from anti-bullying activists received for removing the feature, chief executive Linda Yaccarino also stated that a new form of "Block" and "Mute" is currently being developed by X Corp.[34] Major contributors of Twitter, regarding the removal of the block, said that if such a feature were to be removed, Twitter would violate the App Store and Google Play Store policies. This could potentially lead to the removal of Twitter from these platforms.[35]

In October 2023, the marketing agency X Social Media filed a lawsuit against X Corp alleging a violation its trademark of the letter X.[36]

Controversy with Center for Countering Digital Hate

On June 1, 2023, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reported that X, formerly named Twitter, had "failed to act" on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers. The CCDH then described several tweets containing such hateful messages that allegedly contained "racist, homophobic, neo-Nazi, antisemitic or conspiracy content".[37][38]

In response, X Corp. mentioned that the platform encouraged diversity and free speech, stating that "more than 99.99% of post impressions are healthy" in a blog post.[39] The post further mentioned that the CCDH was spreading "false and misleading claims", which would incur financial downfall as it encouraged advertisers to halt investment on X.[40] The blog also further described the CCDH as a "scare campaign" working continuously to prevent "public dialogue", alleging that the CCDH's research utilized metrics that were purposely put "out of context to make unsubstantiated assertions about X".[41] X then filed a legal claim against CCDH and the European Climate Foundation, which it alleged was providing the information used in CCDH's research, and that X denied all claims stated by the CCDH.[42][43]

Notes

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Elon Musk" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/. 
  2. ↑ "Twitter-turned-X CEO Linda Yaccarino focuses on winning back big brands on Elon Musk's platform". Associated Press. August 10, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/twitter-x-corp-ceo-linda-yaccarino-elon-musk-0131c61ac296955d424fd057f6b0196d. 
  3. ↑ Brown, Ryan (April 13, 2023). "Twitter partners with eToro to let users trade stocks, crypto as Musk pushes app into finance". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/13/twitter-to-let-users-access-stocks-crypto-via-etoro-in-finance-push.html. 
  4. ↑ Capoot, Ashley (July 29, 2023). "X logo officially replaces Twitter's famous bird on mobile app, building headquarters" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/29/x-logo-officially-replaces-twitters-famous-bird-on-mobile-app-.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pahwa, Nitish; Joseph Stern, Mark (April 10, 2023). "Twitter Isn't a Company Anymore". Slate. https://slate.com/technology/2023/04/twitter-inc-x-corp-elon-musk-x-nevada.html. 
  6. ↑ "Musk says may form holding company for Tesla, SpaceX". Reuters. August 31, 2012. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-spacex/musk-says-may-form-holding-company-for-tesla-spacex-idUSBRE87U0KR20120831. 
  7. ↑ Huang, Echo (July 11, 2017). "Elon Musk bought a web domain worth millions with "sentimental value" to him". Quartz. https://qz.com/1026167/elon-musk-just-bought-x-com-the-domain-he-once-owned-from-paypal. 
  8. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (April 21, 2022). "Musk Forms 'X Holdings' After Hints at a Parent Company for Tesla, SpaceX". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-21/musk-forms-x-holdings-after-hints-at-parent-for-tesla-spacex. 
  9. ↑ Huang, Kalley (October 6, 2022). "What Does X Mean to Elon Musk?". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/technology/elon-musk-x.html. 
  10. ↑ Isaac, Mike (June 16, 2022). "Elon Musk tells Twitter's employees he wants the service to 'contribute to a better, long-lasting civilization.'". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/technology/elon-musk-twitter-employees-meeting.html. 
  11. ↑ Saul, Derek (March 7, 2023). "Musk's New Twitter Dream: Become 'Biggest Financial Institution In The World'". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/07/musks-new-twitter-dream-become-biggest-financial-institution-in-the-world/. 
  12. ↑ Conger, Kate; Hirsch, Lauren (October 27, 2022). "Elon Musk Completes $44 Billion Deal to Own Twitter". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/technology/elon-musk-twitter-deal-complete.html. 
  13. ↑ Peters, Jay; Roth, Emma (April 14, 2023). "Elon Musk founds new AI company called X.AI". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/14/23684005/elon-musk-new-ai-company-x. 
  14. ↑ Feeley, Jef. "Twitter becomes X Corporation as Musk advances 'everything app' hopes". The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/technology/2023/04/11/ex-twitter-chief-executive-parag-agrawal-reveals-doj-probe-in-pursuit-of-legal-fees-repayment/. 
  15. ↑ Conger, Kate; Mac, Ryan (March 26, 2023). "Elon Musk Values Twitter at $20 Billion". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/technology/elon-musk-twitter-value.html. 
  16. ↑ Gaus, Annie (April 11, 2023). "Twitter Is Now Called X Corp and 'No Longer Exists'". The San Francisco Standard. https://sfstandard.com/business/twitter-is-now-called-x-corp-and-no-longer-exists/. 
  17. ↑ Roth, Emma (May 12, 2023). "Twitter's new CEO is Linda Yaccarino, a longtime ad exec for NBCU". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/12/23721107/twitter-ceo-linda-yaccarino-elon-musk-nbc. 
  18. ↑ Spangler, Todd (May 12, 2023). "Elon Musk Confirms Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's New CEO, Focused on Business Operations". Variety. https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/linda-yaccarino-twitter-ceo-musk-confirms-1235611144/. 
  19. ↑ Frier, Sarah (June 5, 2023). "Twitter's New CEO Linda Yaccarino Has First Day in the Role". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-06/twitter-s-new-ceo-yaccarino-has-first-day-in-the-role. 
  20. ↑ Ryan Mac; Tiffany Hsu (June 5, 2023). "Twitter's U.S. Ad Sales Plunge 59% as Woes Continue". The New York TImes. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/technology/twitter-ad-sales-musk.html. 
  21. ↑ Katje, Chris (August 1, 2023). "Fidelity Increases Valuation On X After Twitter Name Change: Here's How Much The Social Media Platform Is Worth". https://benzinga.com/markets/mutual-funds/23/08/33501596/fidelity-increases-valuation-on-x-after-twitter-name-change-heres-how-much-the-social-media-. 
  22. ↑ Primack, Dan (July 31, 2023). "Fidelity marks up its Twitter/X shares for second straight month". https://www.axios.com/2023/07/31/fidelity-marks-up-its-twitterx-shares-for-second-straight-month. 
  23. ↑ Alvarez, Simon (August 23, 2023). "Elon Musk shares optimistic outlook for X: $1T market cap “not out of the question”". https://teslarati.com/elon-musk-x-1-trillion-market-cap-not-out-of-the-question. 
  24. ↑ Primack, Dan (August 30, 2023). "Elon Musk's X is gaining value, Fidelity says". https://axios.com/2023/08/30/elon-musks-x-value-fidelity. 
  25. ↑ Lynch, Jamiel (July 31, 2023). "A flashing 'X' was installed atop the San Francisco headquarters following Twitter's rebrand. A city complaint says the sign went up without a permit". https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/30/tech/san-francisco-investigates-twitter-x-sign/index.html. 
  26. ↑ "Brightly flashing 'X' sign removed from the San Francisco building that was Twitter's headquarters". The Associated Press. ABC News. July 31, 2023. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/brightly-flashing-sign-removed-former-twitters-san-francisco-101884217. 
  27. ↑ Goswami, Rohan (August 10, 2023). "X CEO Linda Yaccarino explains reason for getting rid of Twitter name". https://cnbc.com/2023/08/10/x-corp-ceo-linda-yaccarino-says-she-has-autonomy-under-elon-musk.html. 
  28. ↑ Wile, Rob (August 10, 2023). "Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, says she has autonomy from Elon Musk to run the business". https://nbcnews.com/business/business-news/twitter-x-ceo-linda-yaccarino-automony-from-elon-musk-run-business-rcna99202. 
  29. ↑ Conger, Kate (August 3, 2023). "So What Do We Call Twitter Now Anyway?". https://nytimes.com/2023/08/03/technology/twitter-x-tweets-elon-musk.html. 
  30. ↑ Barr, Kyle (August 11, 2023). "Twitter's CEO Makes New Excuses for Musk's Dumb 'X' Rebranding". https://gizmodo.com/linda-yaccarino-twitter-elon-musk-justify-x-rebrand-1850726989. 
  31. ↑ Robinson, Adi (August 18, 2023). "Elon Musk says (yet again) that X will stop letting you block users". https://theverge.com/2023/8/18/23837494/elon-musk-twitter-x-remove-blocking. 
  32. ↑ Mark, Julian (August 18, 2023). "Elon Musk to limit 'block' function on his social media platform". https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/18/musk-limits-twitter-block-button. 
  33. ↑ Thompson, Jay Daniel (August 22, 2023). "Beginning of the end: how Elon Musk's removal of the block function on X could trigger its hellish demise" (in en). http://theconversation.com/beginning-of-the-end-how-elon-musks-removal-of-the-block-function-on-x-could-trigger-its-hellish-demise-211897. 
  34. ↑ "Blocking feature to be removed from former Twitter platform X, says Musk" (in en-GB). The Guardian. Reuters. August 19, 2023. ISSN 0029-7712. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/aug/19/blocking-feature-to-be-removed-from-former-twitter-platform-x-says-musk. 
  35. ↑ Spangler, Todd (August 19, 2023). "Will Musk's Removing X/Twitter User-Blocking Feature Get It Kicked Off Apple and Google App Stores?". https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/x-twitter-remove-user-block-apple-google-app-store-ban-1235700310https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/x-twitter-remove-user-block-apple-google-app-store-ban-1235700310. 
  36. ↑ "Elon Musk's X hit with trademark lawsuit from marketing agency". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon-musks-x-hit-with-trademark-lawsuit-marketing-agency-2023-10-02/. 
  37. ↑ Milmo, Dan (July 31, 2023). "Anti-hate speech group accuses Elon Musk's X Corp of intimidation over legal threat". https://theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/31/anti-hate-speech-group-accuses-elon-musk-x-corp-intimidation. 
  38. ↑ Field, Hayden. "Twitter, now called X, sues researchers who showed rise in hate speech on platform after Musk takeover". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/01/x-sues-ccdh-for-showing-hate-speech-rise-on-twitter-after-musk-deal.html. 
  39. ↑ Kan, Michael (July 19, 2023). "Twitter Claims 99% of Its Content Is Healthy, Internet Rolls Eyes". https://www.pcmag.com/news/twitter-claims-99-of-its-content-is-healthy-internet-rolls-eyes. 
  40. ↑ Sheera Frenkel, Ryan Mac (July 31, 2023). "Twitter Sues Nonprofit That Tracks Hate Speech". https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/31/technology/twitter-x-center-for-countering-digital-hate.html. 
  41. ↑ Shah, Simmone (August 4, 2023). "Elon Musk's X Corp Is Suing an Anti-Hate-Speech Group. Here's What They Have to Say". https://time.com/6301841/6301841/. 
  42. ↑
  43. ↑ Field, Hayden (August 1, 2023). "Twitter, now called X, sues researchers who showed rise in hate speech on platform after Musk takeover". https://cnbc.com/2023/08/01/x-sues-ccdh-for-showing-hate-speech-rise-on-twitter-after-musk-deal.html. 

Bibliography

External links

  • 16x16px Media related to X at Wikimedia Commons

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