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San Francisco's Twitter HQ adorned with flashing 'X' sign sparks city investigation
Why San Francisco city officials are not happy with Elon Musk’s X sign on former Twitter HQ.
The Twitter headquarters in San Francisco has been adorned with a huge "X" sign that flashes in the night sky, but the city authorities are not happy about it.
They say the company did not get the necessary permits to install the sign, which could pose a risk to public safety and historic preservation.
The Department of Building Inspection launched an investigation last week after the sign appeared on top of the building, which is located in the downtown area near City Hall.
Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the department, told the Associated Press (AP) that any new signage on a building requires a permit to ensure that it follows the design and safety standards. He said that the sign could also damage the historic character of the building, which was built in 1937.
The sign is part of Elon Musk's rebranding of the social media platform from Twitter to X, which he announced earlier this month. However, his plan has faced some obstacles from the city officials.
On Monday, San Francisco police stopped workers from taking down the platform's bird logo from the facade of the building, saying they had not secured the sidewalk to protect pedestrians from falling objects.
The "X" sign has also drawn attention from social media users, who have posted videos and photos of it online. Some have complained that the sign is too bright and disturbing, especially for the residents of a building across the street from the headquarters.
What is this ‘X’?
Musk has renamed Twitter as X, after acquiring the social media platform for $44 billion last year. He also replaced the chippering bird logo with an "X" on the desktop version of the platform on Monday.
Linda Yaccarino, the current CEO of X, said that the platform will become a "global town square" that will offer unlimited interactivity through audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking. She said that X will use AI to connect people in new ways.
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Musk, who also leads Tesla and SpaceX, has a fondness for the letter X. He founded X.com in the 1990s, which later became PayPal.
He also calls his son "X."
