It’s been 20 years since Jack Dorsey posted the first tweet on March 21, 2006, with a simple message: “just setting up my twittr”.
\The site, now known as X after being rebranded by its new owner Elon Musk, has undergone significant changes since its inception.
\X is part of Musk’s xAI, which has become part of SpaceX, and has faced controversy, including the incorporation of xAI’s chatbot Grok and widespread sexual deepfakes.
\The Funding and Acquisition Background
\X’s journey to its current form has been marked by a dramatic workforce reduction and a court battle over the acquisition deal.
\As reported by TechCrunch, Elon Musk was found to have misled Twitter investors while trying to get out of the acquisition, according to a jury.
\Market Competition and User Growth
\X retains a strong hold on some user groups, including swaths of the tech industry, but faces competition from services like Bluesky and Meta’s Threads.
\Threads recently overtook X in daily mobile users, according to a report, with both services dwarfed by apps like Instagram and TikTok.
\The First Tweet’s Legacy
\Dorsey’s original tweet was later sold as an NFT for $2.9 million, but its value has reportedly plummeted, with the buyer unable to resell it.
