It’s been a little over two years since Elon Musk took over Twitter, and the app has changed quite a bit. 

In a highly publicized move, the Tesla creator moved to buy Twitter in April 2022. However, the purchase was rocky from the start. By June of that year, the $44 billion deal had been put on hold as Musk allegedly dug deeper into the amount of spam on the site.  This is where the business soured, as Twitter moved forward with the sale, declaring that Musk had already committed to buying Twitter. The two went back and forth, with Musk accusing Twitter of hiding the actual amount of fake accounts on the app.  This ultimately led to Twitter suing Musk, with the entrepreneur then countersuing. Finally, in October 2022, Musk became the complete owner of Twitter and immediately began flexing his power. 

Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X pic.twitter.com/nwB2tEfLr8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023

Advertising on Twitter changed

After Musk took over, nearly 500 of its top advertisers, including Coca-Cola, Jeep, Merck, and Unilever, halted advertising on the platform. Ad spending fell by 65% between January 1st, 2022, when the rumblings of Musk first buying the app began, and May 31st, 2023. 

 

Twitter became “X”

In July 2023, Twitter officially became “X,” though most users refused to adopt the new moniker. The URL remains Twitter.com, but the blue bird logo was replaced with a white X against a black background. Musk allegedly chose “X” due to his love of the letter and attempts to rebrand the platform as a “super app” to attract more advertisers. 

 

Musk launched subscriptions

In October 2023, Musk introduced subscription plans.  Basic starts at $3 per month, Premium begins at $8 a month, and Premium+ starts at $16. Premium+ is the most user-friendly, allowing tweeters to use the platform ad-free. Both Premium and Premium+ give profiles a blue check.

 

Twitter Circle removed

In October 2023, one of the platforms’ most popular features, Twitter Circle, was removed.  Similar to Instagram’s Close Friends, Circle allowed users to share their content with only certain users. 

 

Massive layoffs

By April 2023, Musk had laid off nearly 80% of its staff. The company had a workforce of about 1,500 at that time, a steep drop from the almost 8,000 employees it started with at the beginning of his tenure. 

Musk gives porn the green light

In June 2024, after years of Twitter being a hub for porn, Musk finally announced that the site would formally allow adult content. The official policy change reads, “You may share consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior, provided it’s properly labeled and not prominently displayed.”

Removing “Likes”

In June 2024, Musk announced that Twitter users can no longer see what tweets other users like. However, users can still view how many likes their posts get. 

With Musk showing no sign of giving up his app anytime soon, frequent tweeters will likely see even more changes in the coming years.  

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