Elon Musk’s X Number of Problems: San Francisco launches investigation into new signage on HQ

The city of San Francisco has launched an investigation into a large “X” sign that was installed on top of the former Twitter headquarters, now owned by Elon Musk as part of his rebranding of the social media platform. City officials have raised concerns about the installation, stating that any alterations to building signage require a permit for design and safety considerations.

The appearance of the “X” sign came after workers were prevented from removing Twitter’s iconic bird and logo from the building earlier in the week due to safety issues. Replacement letters or symbols on the building’s facade would also need a permit to ensure they are in line with the building’s historic character and are securely attached.

Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, emphasized that erecting a sign atop a building necessitates a permit, along with planning review and approval. Consequently, the city has opened a complaint and is initiating an investigation.

Elon Musk introduced the new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s well-known blue bird, as he continues to revamp the social media platform he acquired for $44 billion the previous year. The “X” has started appearing on the desktop version of Twitter.

Elon Musk’s fascination with the letter “X” is not new, as he had already renamed Twitter’s corporate name to X Corp. after purchasing it, and one of his children is named “X,” whose actual name is a combination of letters and symbols.

Workers were seen adjusting the sign using a lift machine on Friday afternoon before leaving the site.