Twitter informed business users on Tuesday it is now conducting business as X Corp., confirming a transition previously indicated in court filings as the firm’s billionaire chief, Elon Musk, continues to reshape the social media company toward his ultimate vision of the X “everything app.”
Summary:
Twitter emailed its partners: “Twitter, Inc. has been renamed to X Corp.,” and told them to use the latter name in all official dealings, according to screenshots of the note from various individuals and organizations who received the email.
The email signs off as “X Corp. (formerly, Twitter, Inc.), reinforcing the change, which the company first formally indicated in an April 4 court filing first reported on last week.
The company’s terms of service now list “X Corp.” as the firm’s official name, though it’s unclear when this change was made.
The Tuesday note clarifies that Twitter will remain the name of the social media site.
TANGENT
Part of Twitter’s corporate reshuffling was moving its incorporation from Delaware to Nevada. Musk may have made this state shift because he “thinks that [Nevada] corporate law is more flexible” than it is in Delaware, University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told Forbes. Tobias pointed to Musk’s decision to resolve the 2022 lawsuit from Twitter brass before heading to Delaware court as possible evidence he’s wary of Delaware’s streamlined corporate law system, instead preferring Nevada’s tendency to be less resolution-happy in corporate disputes.
KEY BACKGROUND
Twitter’s corporate rebranding while retaining the name of its flagship service is similar to Google’s transition to Alphabet in 2015 and Facebook’s switch to Meta in 2021. Musk first agreed to buy Twitter last April before trying to back out from the deal, setting forth a messy legal saga that ultimately resulted in Musk agreeing to follow through on the original $44 billion terms of the acquisition in October. Among Musk’s many ambitions for Twitter are to transform it into an “X” super app akin to China’s WeChat, offering services including mobile payments and social media under one umbrella. Expanding Twitter beyond its social media roots could tie into Musk’s push to boost the company’s revenue, after Twitter faced a sharp decrease in ad revenue shortly after Musk’s takeover.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
We estimate Musk’s net worth at $187.8 billion, mostly due to his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, making him the second-wealthiest person on Earth.
Source: Forbes
