A screenshot of a supposed Google email to Gmail users circulated across X on Thursday claiming the tech company would phase out Gmail completely later this year—a development the company appeared to deny in a cryptic post on X, saying: “Gmail is here to stay.”
In this photo illustration, the Gmail logo is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen with the ... [+]
A screenshot of the email, which gathered more than 1 million views across the multiple accounts that posted it, claimed Gmail would be sunsetted on Aug. 1, meaning the email service would “no longer support sending, receiving, or storing emails.”
In a section of the email titled, “Why Gmail Is Sunsetting,” the message said Google was focusing on developing communication technologies and platforms.
X Product Lead Chris Bakke, who has been known to post trolling content on X, was one of the users who shared the screenshot.
Bakke joked in his post that he's the senior vice president of product at Google, saying he was asked by Google CEO Sundar Pichai to fire the company’s Gemini team and accidentally fired the entire Gmail team.
X owner Elon Musk has publicly criticized Google’s Gemini AI model, recently posting a meme that portrays Gemini as woke and racist while xAI, a Musk-founded AI competitor, is “truth-seeking.”
Google announced last year it would be phasing out Gmail’s HTML view in 2024, noting in a support post the Gmail service is transitioning users to the latest version of Gmail known as standard view.
X didn’t immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Shares of Google parent company Alphabet closed up more than 1% on Thursday at $145.32.
We estimate Musk’s net worth at $207.5 billion, making him the second-wealthiest person in the world behind LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault ($228.3 billion).
Google said last year it would begin sunsetting Gmail’s HTML version starting this January. The stripped-down HTML view of Gmail allows for quicker load times and better connectivity while on slower connections.
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