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Twitter’s X rebrand has failed. The company didn’t secure the intellectual property rights to the X brand, Reuters reported, and the site’s haphazard rollout had parts referencing “X” while others still encouraged you to “search Twitter” or “Tweet.” Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters sign was removed without a permit, prompting police intervention. Found that the company didn’t even try to acquire Gene X Hwang’s @x Twitter handle, owned by Orange Photography.
The San Francisco-based @orangephoto account credits its founders, Gene X Hwang and Jack Huynh, as “@x & @jackhuynh.” The @x account is currently private.
Hwang says he would be happy to talk to Twitter about his @x account if they ever did.
“I’m kind of waiting to see what might happen,” Hwang tells “And I would be willing to part with the handle if they made a sensible offer,” he adds.
Hwang doesn’t have a set price for selling the account’s name. Instagram handles cost thousands of dollars.
After Elon Musk’s announcement, Twitter’s rebranding to X seemed rushed. Twitter’s website and app still referenced Twitter, even though the main @Twitter handle was rebranded as “X.” Users noticed.
“They didn’t even secure the handle before moving forward,” tweeted @Nash076. “Take aim.”
Welcome to X. Now this is how you do a rebranding: pic.twitter.com/yCiN4hywrx
— Fail Whale (@leederca) July 24, 2023
when you're logged in to this website, you might be on X but you're searching Twitter pic.twitter.com/Du8cgVpmy5
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) July 24, 2023
While Hwang waits to hear if X or Musk will make him an offer—or just acquire his handle without consent (you never know these days!), others are investigating X’s intellectual property rights battles. According to Reuters and others, Microsoft has owned an Xbox-related X trademark since 2003, and Meta has owned a blue-and-white letter “X” federal trademark since 2019. Meta’s trademark includes use with online social networking services, which may cause issues.
Though Meta may not sue, trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Reuters there’s a “100% chance” Twitter will be sued over the X rebranding, as he’s counted nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations for X across various industries.
Musk’s decision to rename Twitter “X” may hurt the brand’s value, in addition to the rebranding mistakes. Fortune reports that Musk may have wiped out $4 billion to $20 billion in Twitter’s value—a brand that took 15 years to build.
