📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Twitter User Who Had the 'X' Handle Says He Was Kicked Out of His Account by Elon Musk: 'All's Well That Ends Well' The man was automatically given a new username.

By Emily Rella

entrepreneur daily

Well, that's awkward!

Upon Elon Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter to "X," what he claims will be the "everything app," Twitter's (er... X's) owner immediately changed the @Twitter handle to @X, naturally.

Except there was one problem — the @x handle already belonged to someone named Gene X Hwang, who was promptly booted from his account without any warning or permission, he says, and instead given a new handle of @x12345678998765.

Related: Twitter Is Now Officially 'X': 'There's Absolutely No Limit to This Transformation'

"Some amount of money or compensation doesn't seem like it would be too big a deal for them," Hwang told Insider. "I definitely would have accepted something for it, but I also wasn't trying to extort money or anything like that."

Hwang's followers and Tweets were automatically transferred to the new account.

X then reached out to him via email and told him that he would have access to "a selection of X merch" and was even offered an "exclusive visit" to X's HQ in San Francisco (where Hwang resides) to meet members of the executive team.

"We appreciate your loyalty and want to minimize any inconvenience this may cause," the email read. "You may choose any unclaimed or inactive user handle as a replacement."

The account @Twitter remains inactive and is set to private. The bio for that account encourages users to go visit the @X handle for updates.

"When it all started happening, I thought maybe something cool would come out of it," Hwang told Insider. "In a way, it was kind of like the fantasy of a winning lottery ticket."

Related: TikTok Rolls Out New Feature Amid Threads, 'X' Rivalry

Musk's rebranding of X officially happened on Monday after revealing the brand's new logo and shining it on both the app and over the social platform formerly known as Twitter's HQ.

X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, penned a lengthy post about what she hoped the new X app would become and teased much more than a simple rebranding.

As for Hwang, it seems as though he's found a sense of peace with getting booted based on his most recent Tweet from Tuesday.

Musk has talked about his plans to build X in the past, noting that his purchase of Twitter for $44 billion last fall was so that it would serve as an "accelerant" to help build X.

Emily Rella

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

The Sweet Side Hustle She Started in an Old CVS Made $800,000 in One Year. Now She's Repeating the Success With Her Daughter — and They've Already Exceeded 8 Figures.

Mother-daughter team Elisabeth and Gina Galvin are taking their snack brand Stellar Snacks to new heights, literally — you've probably seen their products in-flight.

Social Media

Schedule Your Social Media Easier with This $50 Subscription

Streamline your social production game with this fantastic deal.

Money & Finance

This One Skill Will Make or Break Your Success As a Day Trader

How you act when the chips are down is crucial to your trading success.

Franchise

Burger King Makes a $300 Million Investment in Modernizing Its Restaurants — See the Updated Look Here

The fast-food giant is set to revamp 1,100 of its U.S. locations, signaling a significant next phase in its ongoing "Reclaim the Flame" initiative.

Growing a Business

If You Want to Make Millions, Ditch Your Polished Pitch and 'Own Your Crazy' Says This Legendary Branding Guru

Phyllis Williams-Strawder, the self-anointed "Ghetto Country Brandmother," shares her unfiltered thoughts on achieving big success by using your authentic voice.