Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has launched a new marketplace designed to redistribute inactive or unused profile names — a move aimed at giving users access to long-coveted handles.
The feature is currently exclusive to Premium Business and Premium+ subscribers, and offers two categories of usernames: priority and rare.
According to X, priority usernames — typically full names, multi-word phrases, or alphanumeric combinations — can be requested at no cost, with applicants expected to receive responses within three days. However, if a subscriber cancels or downgrades their plan, their account automatically reverts to its original username.
On the other hand, rare usernames such as “@Tom” or “@Pizza,” which are short or highly desirable, will be distributed differently. These can be purchased by invitation from X or obtained through a public application process. Once bought, such usernames remain tied to the user even after their premium subscription ends.
Musk, who acquired Twitter nearly three years ago for about 44 billion U.S. dollars and later rebranded it as X, had previously announced plans to release usernames linked to inactive accounts.
The new feature marks another step in his ongoing efforts to reshape the platform’s identity and monetization strategy.
