The Entire Story Of Twitter / X Under Elon Musk

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Elon Musk bought Twitter, and now he’s rebranding it arsenic X. Signs personification gone up (and backmost down), icons are changing, and an aged scheme is new.

How’d we get here?

On April 4th, 2022, we learned that Musk had purchased tin shares of Twitter to spell its largest individual shareholder. Eventually, he followed up pinch an unsolicited relationship to bargain 100 percent of Twitter’s shares for $54.20 each, aliases astir $44 billion. Twitter accepted Musk’s offer, but past things sewage weird because he tried to cancel nan deal.

There was a batch of back-and-forth astir bots and matter messages, but successful nan end, Musk settled connected buying nan institution alternatively than facing a deposition aliases Chancery Court proceedings and yet strode into Twitter HQ carrying a sink.

Since then, location personification been layoffs, overmuch layoffs, and moreover overmuch layoffs — affirmative play complete Substack, unpaid bills, and bluish checkmarks. With advertisement gross still down from erstwhile years, Elon yet abdicated nan domiciled of CEO successful May 2023, installing longtime NBCUniversal advertisement executive Linda Yaccarino.

Read connected for nan latest updates astir what’s going connected incorrect Twitter correct now.

Elon Musk email to X staff: ‘we’re hardly breaking even’
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
Ever since Elon Musk closed his woody to bargain Twitter he’s claimed nan company, now called X, is successful “a very dire business from a gross standpoint.”
Now, nan Wall Street Journal reports that banks are preparing a coordinated move to discarded disconnected immoderate of nan $13 cardinal successful indebtedness they loaned Musk to finance nan deal. It mentions an email sent to labour this month, too confirmed by The Verge, wherever nan Chief Twit said, “...we’ve witnessed nan powerfulness of X successful shaping nationalist conversations and outcomes,” but too claimed, “Our personification maturation is stagnant, gross is unimpressive, and we’re hardly breaking even.”
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Dozens of subreddits are banning links to X
Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Dozens of celebrated subreddits are banning links to X aft Elon Musk made a mobility that historians and value authorities groups personification described arsenic a Nazi salute. Communities that personification instituted a prohibition connected links to X spot r/formula1, r/military, r/nursing, r/TwoXChromosomes, and r/nintendo.
The displacement is spreading crossed Reddit aft neo-Nazis celebrated Musk’s reside astatine a rally connected Monday for Donald Trump’s inauguration. During nan speech, Musk doubly raised his limb successful a salute that historians, elected officials, and organizations that support Holocaust survivors personification observed arsenic a Nazi salute. During his speech, Musk places his manus connected his thorax and throws his limb guardant astatine an angle, holding it mid-air for a less moments. “My bosom goes retired to you,” he says to supporters. Some supporters of Musk personification defended him, saying nan mobility went connected pinch his words.
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Elon Musk is being sued by nan feds complete nan measurement he bought Twitter
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has resulted successful a nationalist suit by nan Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that he collapsed securities laws pinch a precocious disclosure, and saved $150 cardinal successful nan process.
Before Musk agreed to bargain Twitter for $44 billion, earlier he tried to backmost retired of that deal, earlier he was forced to spell done pinch it, and earlier he changed its punishment to X, he started by acquiring a important liking successful nan institution but didn’t uncover that truth until weeks later.
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How Elon Musk’s xAI is softly taking complete X
Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge
When Elon Musk launched his ain AI startup, xAI, he touted a cardinal advantage complete his competitors: entree to nan immense trove of accusation from his precocious acquired societal media level Twitter. By implementing caller API fees connected nan web he quickly renamed X, Musk locked retired different AI companies, maintaining exclusive entree for his ain models. And he began utilizing X’s millions of users to proceedings nan results.
Musk has been utilizing this distribution transmission since xAI launched its first type of nan Grok ample relationship model, adding features for illustration trending communicative summaries and AI-generated questions connected posts arsenic bully arsenic releasing nan Grok chatbot (initially) to X users exclusively. Now, a slew of caller AI features is coming. Per nan findings of reverse technologist Nima Owji, nan level appears to beryllium processing AI-powered position enhancements, including a characteristic that lets Grok modify your tweets. The chatbot besides appears to beryllium adding location-based queries, letting users inquire astir things nearby, for illustration marketplace stores.
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Elon Musk says X’s algorithm pushes “too overmuch negativity.”
Musk posted past nighttime that nan platform’s algorithm will soon “promote overmuch informational/entertaining content” successful bid to “maximize unregretted user-seconds.”
X’s caller ‘Aurora’ image generator is gone.
The “Grok 2 + Aurora” action has vanished from Grok’s exemplary selector insubstantial only a clip aft it appeared, Engadget reports, replaced by “Grok 2 + FLUX beta” instead. The exemplary still makes photorealistic images, but it was small consenting to reproduce celebrities erstwhile I asked.
X proprietor Elon Musk wrote yesterday that nan photorealistic and mostly unrestricted exemplary is simply a beta “internal image generator.”
Update: Added testing detail.
X gives Grok a caller photorealistic AI image generator
Image: The Verge
X has fixed Grok a caller AI image generator exemplary called “Aurora” that seems to create acold overmuch photorealistic imagery than Grok’s different image generator, pinch likewise less evident restrictions connected what it will produce, TechCrunch reports. Like Grok, anyone tin usage Aurora. It lives successful a caller “Grok 2 + Aurora beta” action successful nan Grok exemplary selector, though you’ll only get a less queries earlier you deed nan X Premium subscription paywall and personification to wait.
TechCrunch recovered that nan model, which X worker Chris Park posted is disposable this morning, was consenting to create copyrighted characters and nationalist figures, including Mickey Mouse and “a bloodied Donald Trump,” but that it “stopped short of nudes.” Its deficiency of restrictions isn’t surprising, fixed our acquisition pinch Grok’s different model.
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Who really owns your societal media accounts? (Not you.)
As 404 Media and others note, Elon Musk’s X has inserted itself into The Onion’s acquisition of Infowars, arguing that neither Alex Jones nor nan spot handling his bankruptcy owns nan associated societal media accounts.
Since X simply grants a licence for their use, nan lawyers opportunity that can’t beryllium transferred without permission.
Musk dodged a reward complete skipping an SEC gathering successful September.
A nationalist judge said Friday that sanctioning Musk was unnecessary “because he already agreed to reimburse nan SEC $2,923 to surface airfare for nan trio of agency lawyers he stood up successful Los Angeles successful September,” Bloomberg writes.
The agency sought to reward him aft he ditched a grounds complete his Twitter acquisition to watch a SpaceX launch.
A study recovered that X’s algorithm now loves 2 things: Republicans and Elon Musk
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images
Elon Musk’s X whitethorn personification tweaked its algorithm to boost his account, connected pinch those of different conservative-leaning users, starting astir nan clip he announced his support of Donald Trump’s statesmanlike campaign. That’s according to a caller study published by nan Queensland University of Technology (QUT), which recovered that Musk’s posts successful peculiar were abruptly overmuch overmuch popular.
The study’s authors — QUT subordinate professor successful integer media Timothy Graham and Monash University communications and media studies professor Mark Andrejevic — first looked astatine Musk’s engagement earlier and aft his July endorsement of Trump. They study that starting astir July 13th, Musks’ posts received 138 percent overmuch views and 238 percent overmuch retweets than earlier that date.
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Don Lemon says he’s leaving X.
Lemon cited, among different things, nan site’s caller position of work that require disputes to beryllium brought successful Texas courts, wherever a Tesla stock-owning judge precocious recused himself from an advertiser suit against X.
The Guardian is quitting X.
The news outlet says it will nary longer position connected immoderate charismatic Guardian accounts:
This is point we personification been considering for a while fixed nan often disturbing contented promoted aliases recovered connected nan platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism. The US statesmanlike predetermination tally served only to underline what we personification considered for a agelong time: that X is simply a toxic media level and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been tin to usage its powerfulness to style governmental discourse.
X is allowing group you’ve blocked to spot your posts
Illustration: The Verge
This weekend, X, nan level formerly known arsenic Twitter, announced it’s “starting to launch” a arguable alteration to really blocking useful connected its platform. Company proprietor Elon Musk first revealed nan alteration successful September, which will fto group you’ve blocked to proceed to spot your posts, and, arsenic noted by TechCrunch, your pursuing and followers lists.
Musk claimed that stopping group from seeing your nationalist posts “makes nary sense,” but owed to a post-Musk alteration that stops logged-out users from scrolling moreover a nationalist profile, this could make it easier for blocked users to proceed harassing someone.
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X was expected to beryllium a slope by now
Image: The Verge
When Elon Musk was forced to bargain Twitter 2 years ago, he said his extremity was to move nan level into 2 things: nan “digital municipality square” and nan “everything app.” He has grounded astatine immoderate goals.
X isn’t point that is upsetting “the acold correct and nan acold adjacent equally,” Instead, it has spell Musk’s governmental weapon. In fact, he whitethorn beryllium truthful preoccupied pinch trying to get Donald Trump elected that he has forgotten that X was expected to beryllium a slope by now.
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X’s biggest anti-immigrant poster is... Elon Musk.
We’ve been sounding nan siren astir Elon’s awesome replacement posts for a while, and Bloomberg conscionable ran nan numbers. Musk posts astir nan expected nexus betwixt migration and elector fraud overmuch than immoderate different topic.
To beryllium clear, Noncitizen voting is virtually nonexistent, contempt Musk’s claims to nan contrary. Even a Heritage Foundation study shows conscionable 68 instances of noncitizen voting successful elections since 1980.
The EU whitethorn bully Elon Musk’s different companies for X violations
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images
The European Union has reportedly warned X that it could usage nan gross of respective companies owned by Elon Musk to cipher fines levied against nan level for violating societal media laws. European regulators whitethorn return nan yearly revenues of Musk’s different companies — including SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI, and nan Boring Company — into narration to cipher fines, group acquainted pinch nan matter told Bloomberg.
X is being investigated for perchance violating respective provisions of nan EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping norm that requires awesome platforms to region posts that incorporated forbidden contented — and holds them financially accountable if they don’t. Under nan DSA, which was passed successful 2022, regulators tin bully companies arsenic overmuch arsenic 6% of their yearly yearly gross for failing to recreation transparency rules aliases reside forbidden contented aliases disinformation connected their platforms.
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X blocked hacked JD Vance dossier links aft nan Trump tally flagged it
Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge
The Presidential tally of Donald Trump asked X to extremity links to a communicative containing VP nominee JD Vance’s hacked dossier from circulating earlier X chose to artifact them, reports The New York Times. X had cited its “rules connected posting unredacted backstage individual information” arsenic its justification for suspending nan newsman who first published nan dossier successful his story.
That’s a markedly different group of actions than those Musk took 2 years agone aft criticizing Twitter’s determination to suppress a 2020 news communicative astir Hunter Biden’s laptop. He called nan premier “a usurpation of nan Constitution’s First Amendment” and seeded psyche documents related to nan determination to definite journalists to study connected — which doxxed group successful nan process.
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X drops Unilever from its ‘advertiser boycott’ lawsuit
Image: The Verge
X will net its Premium users to prosecute pinch each other
Image: The Verge
X is making a ample alteration to really creators tin summation money from nan platform. Since past year, X has shared advertisement gross pinch creators based connected really galore verified users spot ads successful replies to their posts. But nan institution announced coming that creators are alternatively going to beryllium paid based connected “engagement pinch your contented from Premium users.”
Put different way: nan overmuch group that subscribe to X Premium and prosecute pinch contented from different Premium subscribers, nan overmuch money they each make. In theory.
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Brazil clears X for return aft a monthlong ban
Image: The Verge
On Tuesday, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered nan country’s telecommunications agency Anatel to unblock X incorrect 24 hours, penning that it has fulfilled “all nan requirements basal for nan contiguous return of activities.
However, this won’t mean an contiguous return to activity for nan app. As noted by nan Brazilian outlet Poder360, Anatel still needs to notify Brazil’s 20,000 different nett activity providers to region nan restrictions, which will alteration by nan strategy they use.
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X based connected it shouldn’t beryllium a bully successful Australia because it’s not Twitter.
The institution claimed that it’s not liable for failing to afloat reply a announcement asking really it handles kid maltreatment imagery because Twitter “ceased to exist” aft nan announcement was sent, arsenic ArsTechnica writes.
Musk’s $44 cardinal Twitter now weighted astatine conscionable $9.4b arsenic X.
The markdown comes courtesy of Fidelity which now values its first $19.66 cardinal finance successful X astatine conscionable $4.18 million.
The positive manager, which helped Musk get nan societal web formerly known arsenic Twitter, has further reduced nan worthy of its holding successful X to a afloat markdown of 78.7 percent arsenic of August’s end, based connected recently released disclosures from Fidelity’s Blue Chip Growth Fund.
Brazil orders X to net 1 overmuch bully earlier it tin spell live.
That reportedly includes a caller $1.8 cardinal bully for X having concisely gone unrecorded for immoderate users successful nan authorities past week.
X will fto group you’ve blocked spot your posts
Image: The Verge
X will now make your posts visible to users you’ve blocked. In a reply connected Monday, X proprietor Elon Musk said nan “block usability will artifact that narration from engaging with, but not artifact seeing, nationalist post.”
Currently, X displays a “You’re blocked” relationship erstwhile trying to position nan level scheme of a personification who’s blocked you. In summation to blocking each posts, it too prevents you from seeing their replies, media, followers, and pursuing list.
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Alexis Ohanian is premiering his women’s changeable show connected X
Illustration: The Verge
In a precocious Friday email, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced nan motorboat of a caller “video tab” characteristic (resembling a TikTok-style endless scroll, according to a guidelines astatine X) and an X-exclusive reality series, called The Offseason, starring changeable prima Midge Purce, and produced by investor Alexis Ohanian.
This announcement comes soon aft a gathering of X partners and clients astatine nan New York agency connected Tuesday, while Yaccarino useful to clasp advertisers and contented creators — immoderate captious to nan level but steadily fleeing owed to nan behaviour of its owner, Elon Musk.
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