Twitter Rebranding to X Was a ‘Liberation,’ CEO Linda Yaccarino Says

Linda Yaccarino speaks during Advertising Week 2015 AWXII at the Times Center Stage in New York City, on Sept. 30, 2015. Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images for AWXII

Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X—previously known as Twitter—has explained why the social media platform recently dropped its iconic blue bird logo and changed its name.

In an interview with CNBC aired on Aug. 10, Ms. Yaccarino, who took over as X CEO in May, noted that owner Elon Musk has been publicly discussing plans to transform the platform into X, “the everything app,” similar to China’s WeChat, for some time.

In March, Mr. Musk merged Twitter with a shell firm called X Corp which he owns, and in July the social media platform replaced its former branding after the businessman said it was time to “bid adieu to the bird.”

“Even when we announced that I was joining the company, I was joining the company to partner with Elon to transform Twitter into X, the everything app,” Ms. Yaccarino told CNBC.

“The rebrand represented really a liberation from Twitter,” she said of the company’s decision to adopt the single stylized letter “X.”

“A liberation that allowed us to evolve past a legacy mindset and thinking. And to reimagine how everyone, how everyone on Spaces who’s listening, everybody who’s watching around the world. It’s going to change how we congregate, how we entertain, how we transact all in one platform,” Ms. Yaccarino continued.

The CEO also stressed that a global town square that is “fueled by free expression” will be at the center of the app and will be a place “where the public gathers in real-time.”

This will all run under one seamless interface, she said, before noting the numerous changes that have taken place since Mr. Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last year.

A photo illustration of the new Twitter logo in London on July 24, 2023. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Changes to Twitter

Those changes include “experiences and evolution into long-form video and articles,” and allowing users to subscribe to their favorite creators, who are now “earning a real living on the platform, which is so exciting,” Ms. Yaccarino said.

The CEO also noted how X users will soon be able to make video and voice calls without having to give their phone numbers to anyone on the platform and send encrypted messages.

The platform also plans to enable payments between users and friends and creators, Ms. Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBC Universal, told CNBC.

Previously X rolled out the option to allow users to get verified under Twitter Blue, an opt-in monthly subscription.

“If you stay Twitter, or you stay whatever your previous brand is, change tends to be only incremental. And you get graded by a legacy report card,” Ms. Yaccarino said. “And at X we think about what’s possible. Not the incremental change of what can’t be done. And if you think about the velocity of product changes, infrastructure improvements that have happened over the past 10 months, it kind of answers the question of ‘why rebrand?’” she said.

A newly-constructed X sign on the roof of the headquarters of the social media platform previously known as Twitter, in San Francisco, on July 29, 2023. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

‘The Future State of Unlimited Interactivity’

Previously Ms. Yaccarino said X, which will be powered by artificial intelligence (AI), will become the “world’s most accurate real-time information source” and “the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.”

Mr. Musk, meanwhile, has vowed in the coming months that X will add “comprehensive communications” and grant users the ability to “conduct your entire financial world” as the platform begins to expand and becomes a combination of messaging, social networking, and payment apps on one site.

Elsewhere during the interview with CNBC, Ms. Yaccarino touched on the latest leadership reshuffling at X, noting that both she and Mr. Musk have very different roles at the company.

Reports emerged earlier this month that, going forward, X’s product and engineering team will report to Mr. Musk while Ms. Yaccarino will oversee all other divisions, including human resources, legal, finance, sales, and operations.

“Elon is focused on product design, he leads a team of extraordinary engineers and focuses on new technology,” Ms. Yaccarino said of the latest leadership changes. “Elon is working on accelerating the rebrand and working on the future and I’m responsible for the rest. Running the company, from partnerships to legal to sales to finance,” she said.

Ms. Yaccarino also stressed she has “autonomy” under Mr. Musk, who she called a “great partner,” and described her past few weeks at the company as “incredibly supportive.”