As part of the rebrand of the company formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk has taken over the @X handle within the platform. As of yesterday, the @X handle was still in use by its original owner, but that has changed this morning.
According to reporting by Mashable, as of early this morning the @X handle is now the official handle for “X” or what we all have come to know as Twitter. Previously, the handle belonged to photographer Gene X. Hwang who has had it since 2007 and had amassed a follower count of 26.9K. He had specifically chosen that handle in the early days of Twitter due to that being his middle initial and him being a GenX’er.
When asked if Twitter management had reached out regarding a takeover of the @X handle, Hwang responded that no one had, but that he knew it was just a matter of time until he hears something. He stated:
I haven’t been contacted by Twitter / Elon…I am keeping an eye out on DMs and such to see if they do touch base about it
Things took a turn shortly after when Hwang received an email from Twitter stating that the company would be taking over the handle and reassigning a similar one to him. The similar handle that was assigned to Hwang? @x12345678998765. This is either really random or there are 12345678998764 other handles with the letter “X” in front of them.
Hwang also clarified that there was no financial compensation but that there was an offer to provide him with some merch and to meet with management if he so chooses. However, Hwang seems to be taking things in stride and has begun using his new handle.
Musk’s takeover of the @X handle is the latest in a series of moves he has made to rebrand Twitter. Since his acquisition of the company, he has made a number of changes to the platform, including introducing a new version of Twitter Blue that adds a verified check mark. It will be interesting to see what other changes Musk makes to the platform in the future.
