Current:Home > ScamsA brief biography of 'X,' the letter that Elon Musk has plastered everywhere-LoTradeCoin
A brief biography of 'X,' the letter that Elon Musk has plastered everywhere
View Date:2024-12-23 20:43:26
Elon Musk has finally done it: turned Twitter to X.
While the unveiling of X on a Sunday caught many people unaware, it was not a surprise.
The platform's owner has talked about turning it into "X" for months, while being a bit vague about what that exactly means. Does X represent a major business experiment? A radical new concept for on-line living? Or is it simply one man's obsession with the 24th letter of the alphabet?
Probably it's all of the above.
"X," Musk tweeted in April.
A few days earlier a filing in a federal court case in California confirmed that Twitter had been folded into X Corp.
In announcing the company's new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, this May, Musk wrote on then-Twitter: "Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app."
Yaccarino seems keen to do exactly that, posting on Sunday that "X will be the platform that can deliver, well....everything."
In some ways, the letter "X" frames everything about Musk's ambitions, according to biographers, from where he is headed to where he got his entrepreneurial start.
X.com, the bank where it began
According to Ashlee Vance, the author of Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Musk's obsession with the letter X began with one of the billionaire's earliest ventures, X.com, which later merged with a competitor to become PayPal.
"Everyone tried to talk him out of naming the company that back then because of the sexual innuendos, but he really liked it and stuck with it," said Vance.
In 2017, Musk repurchased the url "X.com" from PayPal, tweeting that the domain "has great sentimental value."
X, the Tesla model
"X marks the spot in a lot of ways for Elon Musk," said Tim Higgins, a Wall Street Journal reporter and the author of Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century. "It's kind of this common theme throughout."
The letter X became the name of Tesla's third model, which debuted in 2015.
"The idea being that the Tesla models would spell out the word 'sexy,'" Higgins said. But Ford owns the right to the Model E, which is why Musk later settled on the Model 3, "kind of a backwards E," he said.
X, the first letter of his youngest son's name
In 2020, Musk and his then-partner, Grimes, welcomed a son via surrogate, naming him X Æ A-12 Musk. (Æ is pronounced "ash," Musk told controversial podcast host Joe Rogan.)
The couple named their second child, a girl, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk. (It's now been changed to "Y.")
X, the everything app
But lately, "X" has referred to Musk's newest ambition, building an "everything app" akin to China's popular WeChat, which doesn't yet have a U.S.-parallel.
"He wants to create an app similar to how WeChat is used in China, where it's part of the fabric of day-to-day life. You use it to communicate, to consume news, to buy things, to pay your rent, to book appointments with your doctor and even to pay fines," said Vance.
Vance says following the WeChat model makes sense with what Musk wants for Twitter. "The company clearly needs a new, bigger business if it's to make the type of money that would justify his investment and satisfy his ambition," he said.
Weeks before he shelled out $44 billion to acquire Twitter in October, Musk tweeted, "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."
X...?
But Musk's obsession with the letter X is still something of a mystery even to his biographers, like Higgins.
"Whether it's kind of mysterious, like something pulled from a comic book, or 'X marks the spot,' it's hard to know with him," Higgins said. "It also just kind of sounds cool."
This story was updated on July 24, 2023, by Lisa Lambert.
veryGood! (25386)
Related
- Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown Alleges Ex Kody Made False Claims About Family’s Finances
- Incredible dolphin with 'thumbs' spotted by scientists in Gulf of Corinth
- Why is Draymond Green suspended indefinitely? His reckless ways pushed NBA to its breaking point
- Experts at odds over result of UN climate talks in Dubai; ‘Historic,’ ‘pipsqueak’ or something else?
- Oil Industry Asks Trump to Repeal Major Climate Policies
- Luke Combs responds to copyright lawsuit ordering woman who sold 18 tumblers pay him $250K
- DWTS’ Alfonso Ribeiro Shares Touching Request for Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert After Health Scare
- Father of July 4th Illinois parade shooting suspect released early from jail for good behavior
- Dick Van Dyke says he 'fortunately' won't be around for Trump's second presidency
- These 50 Top-Rated Amazon Gifts for Women With Thousands of 5-Star Reviews Will Arrive By Christmas
Ranking
- Kathy Bates likes 'not having breasts' after her cancer battle: 'They were like 10 pounds'
- Turkish minister says Somalia president’s son will return to face trial over fatal highway crash
- Turkish lawmaker who collapsed in parliament after delivering speech, dies
- Coal mine accident kills 3 in northern China’s Shanxi province, a major coal-producing region
- Patricia Heaton criticizes media, 'extremists' she says 'fear-mongered' in 2024 election
- Court voids fine given to Russian activist for criticizing war and sends case back to prosecutors
- Woman and man riding snowmachine found dead after storm hampered search in Alaska
- AP PHOTOS: Crowds bundle up to take snowy photos of Beijing’s imperial-era architecture
Recommendation
-
Infowars auction could determine whether Alex Jones is kicked off its platforms
-
Female soccer fans in Iran allowed into Tehran stadium for men’s game. FIFA head praises progress
-
Use of Plan B morning after pills doubles, teen sex rates decline in CDC survey
-
NFL isn't concerned by stars' continued officiating criticisms – but maybe it should be
-
Apologetic rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine gets 45 days in prison for probation violations
-
Coal mine accident kills 3 in northern China’s Shanxi province, a major coal-producing region
-
Congress passes contentious defense policy bill known as NDAA, sending it to Biden
-
Turkish lawmaker who collapsed in parliament after delivering speech, dies