Elon Musk has made headlines once again, this time with news that he plans to bring back Vine, the popular short-form video app that was thought to be lost forever. Musk, the owner of X, announced over the weekend that his company has discovered the video archive for Vine and is working to restore user access. This comes as a surprise to many, as Vine was shut down by Twitter in 2016 after failing to reach its full potential.
Vine, which featured 6-second-long looping videos, was acquired by Twitter in 2012 for $30 million. Despite its short lifespan, Vine left a lasting impact on internet culture, with many creators getting their start on the platform. Even after its discontinuation, Vine content continues to be shared and enjoyed by new generations through online compilations.
Musk’s interest in bringing back Vine was sparked after acquiring Twitter (now known as X) in 2022. He conducted a poll on the platform asking users if they wanted Vine to return, with nearly 70% responding positively. While there were reports that engineers were working on a Vine reboot, nothing ever materialized.
In a recent tweet, Musk hinted at the return of Vine by announcing that the company has found the video archive and is working on restoring user access. However, it remains unclear if Musk has any long-term plans for Vine beyond this. He also mentioned Grok Imagine, a new video-creation feature available to X Premium+ subscribers, which he referred to as “AI Vine.” This suggests that Musk’s focus may now be on AI-driven video creation rather than human creativity.
Whether Musk will follow through on his promise to bring back Vine remains to be seen. It’s possible that his announcement was simply a way to draw attention to Grok AI. Only time will tell if Vine will make a comeback under Musk’s ownership.
