
Elon Musk takes control of @X account from user who had held it for 16 years
The official account for Elon Musk’s X app has switched from @Twiter to @X, after the previous owner of the account moved to a new one. The single-letter username had been registered to Gene X. Hwang, the co-founder of photo firm Orange Photography, for more than 16 years before Twitter’s sudden rebranding on Monday brought the account under scrutiny. On Tuesday, Mr Hwang said that neither Mr Musk nor X had reached out to him, however by Wednesday the account was under the control of the tech billionaire’s company. “Alls well that ends well,” Mr Hwang posted from a new account, @x12345678998765. It is unclear how much Mr Musk or X paid for the one-letter account, if anything at all. The Independent has reached out to both X and Mr Hwang for further information. Mr Musk has reportedly taken over other accounts without permission since he took over the platform in October 2022. According to Platformer editor Zoe Schiffer, the world’s richest person took over the username @e shortly after acquiring the company for $44 billion, despite the original owner of the account being unwilling to part with it. The @e account remains inactive, featuring the name ‘John Utah’ – the same as the protagonist of the 1991 film Point Break – and following just three accounts: Elon Musk, LAist and Nasa. X has also changed its other official accounts to ditch the Twitter branding, renaming its subscription service to @XBlue, and @TwitterSupport to @Support. The company’s Twitter signage was also removed from its San Francisco headquarters on Monday. The website domain X.com also now redirects to Twitter.com, while all of the site’s blue bird logos have been replaced with a crowd-sourced X logo. The hasty switch from one brand to another may result in legal difficulties for Mr Musk, according to trademark lawyers, after it was revealed that the billionaire does not own the intellectual property rights for the letter X when it relates to social networking. Tech rivals Meta and Microsoft both own trademarks for ‘X’ in different domains, with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg currently controlling the federal trademark for a blue-and-white letter ‘X’ for “social networking services”. “There’s a 100 per cent chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody,” one US-based IP lawyer said on Tuesday. Read More What is Elon Musk’s ‘everything app’ X? What is Elon Musk’s ‘everything app’ X? Elon Musk red-faced as police halt Twitter sign removal leaving firm called ‘ER’ Twitter to X: Why Elon Musk rebranded the social networking platform
2023-07-26 19:40

Robin Roberts’ siblings surprise 'GMA' host with impromptu dance performance at her wedding
Robin Roberts' wife, Amber Laign, started to wave a napkin during the amusing performance to show support
2023-09-11 15:56

Virginia Democrats lost in several key swing districts. So how did they win the General Assembly?
The election results this week in Virginia suggest that Republicans must essentially run the table in competitive areas in order to find statewide success at the ballot box
2023-11-10 04:05

Damien Chazelle pays tribute to William Fiedkin at Venice Film Festival
Damien Chazelle paid a moving tribute to the late William Friedkin - who died last month aged 87 - at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday (03.09.23).
2023-09-04 19:00

Stokes fitness doubt in latest England Ashes scare
England Test captain Ben Stokes is still unable to bowl and is only "batting cover", his coach at IPL side Chennai Super Kings says, in a fresh...
2023-05-16 14:05

Southeastern Grocers harvests hope this Thanksgiving by donating more than 7,000 turkeys
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 15, 2023--
2023-11-15 20:26

Building Industry Association of Southern California Offers Complimentary Show Floor Pass to Veterans at the 2023 Building Industry Show
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 19, 2023--
2023-10-19 23:07

Tottenham consider Brentford duo for director of football role
Tottenham are continuing their search for a new director of football and have earmarked Brentford duo Phil Giles and Lee Dykes as candidates. Monchi, Tiago Pinto, Markus Krosche and Michael Edwards are also under consideration.
2023-05-16 18:30

Drought spells 'catastrophe' for Spain's olive harvest
An ongoing drought and soaring temperatures have unleashed fears of an olive "catastrophe" in Spain, the world's largest producer of olive oil, which suffered a...
1970-01-01 08:00

Trump taunts DeSantis and Christie as midnight deadline to appear before Jan 6 grand jury passes - live
Donald Trump has been busy bullying his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, including Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, on Truth Social as he braces for an imminent grand jury indictment over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in inciting the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021. Mr Trump announced on Tuesday that he had been sent a letter by special prosecutor Jack Smith informing him that he is the “target” of the investigation, citing three statutes under which he could be charged, including conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law and tampering with a witness, victim or informant. That indictment, Mr Trump’s third in four months, could be handed down as soon as this week, The Independent has learned. William Russell, a former White House aide who now works for the Trump presidential campaign and spent much of 6 January with the then-president, is believed to have testified before the grand jury on Thursday. The former president was given until midnight on Thursday to report to the Washington, DC, federal courthouse but did not appear. Read More Trump shares sinister new video issuing apocalyptic threat to anyone who ‘f***s around with us’ Deadline for Trump to give evidence in Jan 6 probe passes as third indictment looms Trump bid to toss E Jean Carroll ruling backfires as judge says ex-president did ‘rape’ columnist DeSantis says he’d accept Trump being prosecuted for a ‘traditional crime’ like ‘robbing a bank’
2023-07-21 18:37

What to know about the case of the missing Missouri ER doctor found dead in Arkansas
The case of a Missouri doctor whose body was found in an Arkansas lake more than a week after he was reported missing remains shrouded in mystery
2023-06-03 12:54

Spain’s Sanchez Faces Major Test as Lawmakers Vote for Speaker
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s chances of keeping his job will be tested Thursday when lawmakers vote on
2023-08-17 12:00
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