Elon Musk renamed Twitter “X”. The letter has fascinated the multi-billionaire for many years. Why?
Tesla’s Model X, the aerospace company Space X, Twitter becomes X.com: Elon Musk is obsessed with the letter X. Why is that?
“I’m not sure what the subtle cues were, but I like the letter X,” Musk tweeted after announcing the name change for Twitter. “If X is closest to anything, then of course it’s Art Deco.” He had previously said the X embodies “the imperfections that make us unique”.
For 25 years, the 24th letter of the alphabet has played a role in the professional and personal life of the richest person on the planet. In 1999 he founded an online banking startup called X.com with three partners in California. “Everyone tried to talk him out of the name because of the sexual innuendos, but he really liked it and stuck with it,” Musk biographer Ashlee Vance told NPR. In the US, adult films are classified as “X-rated”.
Against this background, the fact that X.com was renamed family-friendly Paypal the following year should have provided some relief. Musk was pushed out of the company in favor of Peter Thiel. In 2017, he bought back the Internet domain “X.com” from Paypal, on the grounds that it had “great sentimental value” for him. After the acquisition of Twitter, the address redirects visitors to the social network.
“S3XY”
X.com was the first use of the letter X, but not the last. Musk founded SpaceX, officially called Space Exploration Technologies Corporation. He recently launched his artificial intelligence startup called xAi.
The X also plays a role for the e-car pioneer Tesla. The Tesla Model X is one of a series of four cars, the S, 3 and Y. Together they form the acronym S3XY – hardly a mathematical reference. “The idea was that the Tesla models would spell the word sexy,” said Tim Higgins, author of a Musk biography. The problem: Ford owns the rights to the Model E. Musk switched to the number 3 – an inverted E.
The son Musk has with musician Grimes is named X Æ A-Xii. According to Grimes, the X stands for “the unknown variable”. The Æ refers to the “elf spelling of Ai (love &/or artificial intelligence)”. The A-12 is the forerunner of their “favourite plane”: “No weapons, no defense, just speed. Great in combat, but non-violent.” The A12 was a reconnaissance aircraft used by the US Air Force in the late 1960s. It was replaced by the SR-71 aircraft known as the “Blackbird”. And what is the child’s nickname? “Little X”.