X Corp.
TypeSubsidiary
Industry
PredecessorTwitter, Inc.
FoundedMarch 9, 2023 (2023-03-09)[lower-alpha 1]
FounderElon Musk
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
US
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ServicesX (formerly Twitter)
OwnerElon Musk (74%)[2]
Number of employees
c. 1,500 (August 2023)[3]
ParentX Holdings Corp.
Websiteabout.x.com

X Corp. is an American technology company established by Elon Musk in 2023 as the successor to Twitter, Inc. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of X Holdings Corp., which is itself owned by Musk. The company owns the social networking service X (formerly Twitter) and has announced plans to use it as a base for other offerings.[4][5]

History

Conceptualization and planning (2022–2023)

In April 2022, filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed Musk had formed three corporate entities in Delaware, all under the name of X Holdings. According to the filings, one of the entities was to merge with Twitter, Inc., while another was to serve as the parent company of the newly merged company. A third entity would then help take on a US$13 billion loan provided by various large banks to acquire Twitter.[6]

The name "X" dates back to X.com, an online bank co-founded by Musk in 1999. In March 2000, X.com merged with competitor Confinity to create PayPal.[7] Musk considered forming a holding company named "X" for Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX in August 2012.[8] In July 2017, Musk reacquired the domain X.com, for an undisclosed amount, from PayPal.[9] Musk reaffirmed his support for the name "X" in December 2020, replying to a Twitter user who renewed calls for Musk to form a new holding company under that name, although he dismissed the idea of X acquiring his businesses.[10]

The concept for X solidified in October 2022, when Musk tweeted that acquiring Twitter is "an accelerant to creating X, the everything app". According to Musk, Twitter would accelerate the creation of X by "3 to 5 years". Musk expressed interest in creating an app similar to WeChat—a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app—on a podcast in May 2022.[11] In June, Musk told Twitter employees that Twitter is a "digital town square" that should be all-encompassing, like WeChat.[12] In a Morgan Stanley conference in March 2023, Musk touted X once again as the potentially "biggest financial institution in the world".[13] On October 27, 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, and subsequently became its CEO.[14]

Formation (2023–present)

In March 2023, Musk registered X Corp. in Nevada. On the same day, Musk registered the artificial intelligence (AI) company X.AI.[15] Later that month, Musk applied to merge X Holdings I with X Holdings Corp. and Twitter, Inc. with X Corp.[6] In the filing, Musk revealed that X Holdings Corp. had $2 million in capital, but X Holdings Corp. would serve as the parent company for X Corp.[16] In a company-wide email that month, Musk announced that Twitter employees would receive stock in X Corp.[17]

In an April 2023 court filing for an ongoing lawsuit filed by political activist Laura Loomer against Twitter and its former CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter, Inc. notified the court that it had been consolidated into X Corp., a Nevada corporation based in Carson City. A similar filing was made in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.[18]

On May 11, 2023, Musk tweeted that he had found his replacement as Twitter and X Corp.'s CEO. The next day, on May 12, 2023, he named Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO, adding that she "will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology".[19] Musk said he would transition his role to executive chairman and chief technology officer.[20] Yaccarino succeeded Musk on June 5, 2023.[21]

At the end of May 2023, Fidelity Investments estimated the company's value at $15 billion.[22] This was later increased to a value of $27 billion by July,[23][24] and up to about $28.5 billion by the end of August.[25][26]

The company erected a giant illuminated "X" on the roof of its San Francisco headquarters in July 2023 without obtaining required permits. 24 complaints were filed by neighbors concerned about the bright flashing light and structural integrity. Inspectors were twice denied roof access, and the city cited the company for a building code violation. X removed the sign after a few days.[27][28]

In August 2023, CEO Linda Yaccarino stated that she has "operational autonomy" under owner Elon Musk to run the business, and that she is involved in everything that goes into running the company.[29][30] Yaccarino also opened up on the reasoning behind Twitter's "controversial" name change to X,[31] wherein she stated that the rebranding was essentially a "liberation" from Twitter. Yaccarino also went on to say that if users had stayed with Twitter, then changes would only be "incremental" and that with X, they think about "what's possible".[32]

In October 2023, the marketing agency X Social Media filed a lawsuit against X Corp alleging a violation of its trademark of the letter X.[33]

Controversies

Center for Countering Digital Hate

On June 1, 2023, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reported that X, formerly named Twitter, had "failed to act" on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers. The CCDH then described several tweets containing such hateful messages that allegedly contained "racist, homophobic, neo-Nazi, antisemitic or conspiracy content".[34][35]

In response, X Corp. mentioned that the platform encouraged diversity and free speech, stating that "more than 99.99% of post impressions are healthy" in a blog post.[36] The post further mentioned that the CCDH was spreading "false and misleading claims" that might have negative financial repercussions as it encouraged advertisers to halt investment on X.[37] The blog also further described the CCDH as a "scare campaign" working continuously to prevent "public dialogue", alleging that the CCDH's research utilized metrics that were purposely put "out of context to make unsubstantiated assertions about X".[38] X then filed a legal claim against CCDH and the European Climate Foundation, which it alleged was providing the information used in CCDH's research, and that X denied all claims stated by the CCDH.[39][40]

Antisemitism

On November 16, Media Matters for America, a left-leaning watchdog group, published a report stating that X was placing ads for various companies including Apple, IBM, and Oracle, alongside pro-Nazi content.[41] Published following Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, major advertisers like Microsoft and Apple fled the platform, leading to an estimated loss of around $75 million by the end of 2023.[42] This led to a lawsuit by X Corp. against Media Matters, alleging that they had "exploited" the platform into making the ads appear the way they did as a result of excessive scrolling and curating its feed with "fringe" content.[43][44]

Notes

  1. ↑ In an April 4, 2023, court filing, Twitter, Inc. disclosed that it no longer existed and was consolidated into X Corp. The corporation was created under Nevada corporate law on March 9, 2023.[1]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Smith, Connor (April 11, 2023). "Twitter Inc. 'No Longer Exists.' Why Elon Musk Chose Nevada For X Holdings". Barron's. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Elon Musk". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Twitter-turned-X CEO Linda Yaccarino focuses on winning back big brands on Elon Musk's platform". Associated Press. August 10, 2023. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  4. ↑ Brown, Ryan (April 13, 2023). "Twitter partners with eToro to let users trade stocks, crypto as Musk pushes app into finance". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  5. ↑ Capoot, Ashley (July 29, 2023). "X logo officially replaces Twitter's famous bird on mobile app, building headquarters". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Pahwa, Nitish; Joseph Stern, Mark (April 10, 2023). "Twitter Isn't a Company Anymore". Slate. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ Vance 2017, p. 77-78.
  8. ↑ "Musk says may form holding company for Tesla, SpaceX". Reuters. August 31, 2012. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Huang, Echo (July 11, 2017). "Elon Musk bought a web domain worth millions with "sentimental value" to him". Quartz. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  10. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (April 21, 2022). "Musk Forms 'X Holdings' After Hints at a Parent Company for Tesla, SpaceX". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  11. ↑ Huang, Kalley (October 6, 2022). "What Does X Mean to Elon Musk?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ Isaac, Mike (June 16, 2022). "Elon Musk tells Twitter's employees he wants the service to 'contribute to a better, long-lasting civilization.'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  13. ↑ Saul, Derek (March 7, 2023). "Musk's New Twitter Dream: Become 'Biggest Financial Institution In The World'". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ Conger, Kate; Hirsch, Lauren (October 27, 2022). "Elon Musk Completes $44 Billion Deal to Own Twitter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  15. ↑ Peters, Jay; Roth, Emma (April 14, 2023). "Elon Musk founds new AI company called X.AI". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  16. ↑ Feeley, Jef. "Twitter becomes X Corporation as Musk advances 'everything app' hopes". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  17. ↑ Conger, Kate; Mac, Ryan (March 26, 2023). "Elon Musk Values Twitter at $20 Billion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  18. ↑ Gaus, Annie (April 11, 2023). "Twitter Is Now Called X Corp and 'No Longer Exists'". The San Francisco Standard. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  19. ↑ Roth, Emma (May 12, 2023). "Twitter's new CEO is Linda Yaccarino, a longtime ad exec for NBCU". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  20. ↑ Spangler, Todd (May 12, 2023). "Elon Musk Confirms Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's New CEO, Focused on Business Operations". Variety. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ Frier, Sarah (June 5, 2023). "Twitter's New CEO Linda Yaccarino Has First Day in the Role". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  22. ↑ Ryan Mac; Tiffany Hsu (June 5, 2023). "Twitter's U.S. Ad Sales Plunge 59% as Woes Continue". The New York TImes. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  23. ↑ Katje, Chris (August 1, 2023). "Fidelity Increases Valuation On X After Twitter Name Change: Here's How Much The Social Media Platform Is Worth". Benzinga. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  24. ↑ Primack, Dan (July 31, 2023). "Fidelity marks up its Twitter/X shares for second straight month". Axios. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  25. ↑ Alvarez, Simon (August 23, 2023). "Elon Musk shares optimistic outlook for X: $1T market cap "not out of the question"". Teslarati. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  26. ↑ Primack, Dan (August 30, 2023). "Elon Musk's X is gaining value, Fidelity says". Axios. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  27. ↑ Lynch, Jamiel (July 31, 2023). "A flashing 'X' was installed atop the San Francisco headquarters following Twitter's rebrand. A city complaint says the sign went up without a permit". CNN. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Brightly flashing 'X' sign removed from the San Francisco building that was Twitter's headquarters". The Associated Press. ABC News. July 31, 2023. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  29. ↑ Goswami, Rohan (August 10, 2023). "X CEO Linda Yaccarino explains reason for getting rid of Twitter name". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  30. ↑ Wile, Rob (August 10, 2023). "Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, says she has autonomy from Elon Musk to run the business". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  31. ↑ Conger, Kate (August 3, 2023). "So What Do We Call Twitter Now Anyway?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  32. ↑ Barr, Kyle (August 11, 2023). "Twitter's CEO Makes New Excuses for Musk's Dumb 'X' Rebranding". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Elon Musk's X hit with trademark lawsuit from marketing agency". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  34. ↑ Milmo, Dan (July 31, 2023). "Anti-hate speech group accuses Elon Musk's X Corp of intimidation over legal threat". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  35. ↑ Field, Hayden. "Twitter, now called X, sues researchers who showed rise in hate speech on platform after Musk takeover". CNBC. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  36. ↑ Kan, Michael (July 19, 2023). "Twitter Claims 99% of Its Content Is Healthy, Internet Rolls Eyes". PCMag. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  37. ↑ Sheera Frenkel, Ryan Mac (July 31, 2023). "Twitter Sues Nonprofit That Tracks Hate Speech". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  38. ↑ Shah, Simmone (August 4, 2023). "Elon Musk's X Corp Is Suing an Anti-Hate-Speech Group. Here's What They Have to Say". Time. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  39. ↑ Elliot, Vittoria (August 15, 2023). "How X Is Suing Its Way Out of Accountability". Wired. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  40. ↑ Field, Hayden (August 1, 2023). "Twitter, now called X, sues researchers who showed rise in hate speech on platform after Musk takeover". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  41. ↑ Hananoki, Eric (November 16, 2023). "As Musk endorses antisemitic conspiracy theory, X has been placing ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity next to pro-Nazi content". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  42. ↑ Ryan Mac and Kate Conger (November 24, 2023). "X May Lose Up to $75 Million in Revenue as More Advertisers Pull Out". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  43. ↑ Flynn, Kerry (November 20, 2023). "Elon Musk's X sues Media Matters for America". Axios. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  44. ↑ Orturay, Barbara (November 21, 2023). "Musk's X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups' posts". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

Bibliography

  • Media related to X Corp. at Wikimedia Commons
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