X (formerly Twitter) takes over @X handle from its original user

According to reporting by Mashable, as of early this morning the @X handle is now the official handle for “X” or what we all have come to know as Twitter. Previously, the handle belonged to photographer Gene X. Hwang who has had it since 2007 and had amassed a follower count of 26.9K. He had specifically chosen that handle in the early days of Twitter due to that being his middle initial and him being a GenX’er.

When asked if Twitter management had reached out regarding a takeover of the @X handle, Hwang responded that no one had, but that he knew it was just a matter of time until he hears something. He stated:

Things took a turn shortly after when Hwang received an email from Twitter stating that the company would be taking over the handle and reassigning a similar one to him. The similar handle that was assigned to Hwang? @x12345678998765. This is either really random or there are 12345678998764 other handles with the letter “X” in front of them.

Musk’s takeover of the @X handle is the latest in a series of moves he has made to rebrand Twitter. Since his acquisition of the company, he has made a number of changes to the platform, including introducing a new version of Twitter Blue that adds a verified check mark. It will be interesting to see what other changes Musk makes to the platform in the future.