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Drama at Twitter HQ in San Francisco, police halt ‘sign removal’ work. All that's left is ‘er’ with the bird
Twitter's rebranding took an unexpected turn as police halted the removal of the logo from its San Francisco headquarters, citing a permit issue.
Twitter, the social media giant known for its iconic bird logo has undergone a radical rebranding. But Elon Musk's plan to change the branding on its decade-old headquarters at 1355 Market Street in San Francisco met with an unforeseen hurdle.
After rebranding all the online IPs the team started to remove the Twitter sign from the building. However, before they could finish the task, the San Francisco police arrived at the scene, halting the sign removal abruptly. The reason for the police intervention was initially reported to be the absence of a permit for the crane used in the operation. However, it turned out to be a misunderstanding.
Police clarified that no crime had been committed, and the incident was not a police matter. It appeared that someone from Twitter had a work order to remove the sign, but the lack of communication with security and the building's owner led to the confusion.
Also Read: The problem with X? Meta, Microsoft, hundreds more own trademarks to new Twitter name
Regardless of the hiccups, the crane was eventually gone, leaving Twitter with a truncated name, now known as "er" to onlookers. Remnants of the once-proud letters lay on the ground, including the white "W," which Elon Musk had previously mentioned was at the center of a dispute with the landlord. Speculations arose that the dispute might have been related to unpaid rent, adding to the drama surrounding the rebranding.
Elon Musk had teased that the Twitter logo would be dramatically cut off the building using blowtorches during a Twitter Spaces conversation. However, it seems that the actual process was more mundane, with a demo guy using an impact driver from Ridgid, a brand available at The Home Depot. Later at night Musk tweeted an image of the building but smartly removed the er sign.
Also Read: 'Blue bird has been fired': Twitter reacts as iconic logo replaced with ‘X’
As the world awaited the unveiling of the new "X" logo, the Twitter headquarters stood as a symbol of the unexpected twists that can accompany a transition phase, even the most audacious rebranding endeavours.
