Elon Musk has rebranded Twitter to X, replacing the iconic blue bird logo with a minimalist X as part of his vision to transform the social media platform into an "everything app" similar to China's WeChat. The abrupt change eliminates one of the world's most recognized brands.

Musk envisions X as a platform for messaging, payments, shopping, and social networking combined. The company has applied for money transmitter licenses in several U.S. states and is developing payment features.

The rebrand comes nine months after Musk's $44 billion acquisition, during which the company has cut staff dramatically and alienated many advertisers.