San Francisco Investigates Installation of "X" on the Rooftop of Twitter Headquarters
San Francisco is investigating the unauthorized installation of a giant "X" sign on the rooftop of a building in the city's center, formerly known as Twitter headquarters, as owner Elon Musk continues the rebranding of the social media platform.
According to the Associated Press, the city authorities have received a complaint and have initiated an investigation into the matter. Replacing letters or symbols on buildings or installing signs requires permission for design and safety considerations.
The "X" sign appeared after the San Francisco police refused to allow workers to remove the iconic Twitter bird and brand logo from the building's side, citing concerns that they did not cover the sidewalk adequately to protect pedestrians in case something falls.
Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, stated earlier this week that any replacement of letters or symbols requires a permit to ensure compliance with the building's historical character and to ensure that additions are securely attached to the signage. The city has lodged a complaint and is launching an investigation.
As The Gaze reported, Elon Musk introduced the new "X" logo to replace the familiar blue Twitter bird after he acquired the social media platform for $44 billion last year. After 17 years of using the iconic blue bird logo, which became a symbol of broadcasting ideas to the world, billionaire Elon Musk changed Twitter's name to X and unveiled a new logo to signify the platform's new focus on "everything software."
The stylized white "X" on a black background became the new logo on Twitter's website last Monday, although the blue bird can still be seen on the mobile app.
Since taking over Twitter in October of last year, Musk has envisioned creating a program that could offer users various services beyond just social media, such as direct payments, similar to the popular Chinese app WeChat.
The new logo has garnered mixed reactions from users and has caused confusion about what tweets will be called, while marketing and branding experts have expressed concerns that the rebranding could risk losing years of Twitter's name recognition.
"Not many brands have become verbs or are mentioned in global news as often as Twitter," said Matt Rhodes, head of the creative agency House 337's strategy department. "Personally, I find the new approach somewhat cold and impersonal," he added.
Musk wrote on Twitter, "Soon, we will say goodbye to the Twitter brand, and gradually to all birds." In response to a tweet asking what tweets will be called under the X, Musk replied, "x."
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, has long been fascinated with the letter X. His companies involved in space transportation are named SpaceX. In 1999, he co-founded x.com as an online bank, which later became PayPal. He bought the domain for PayPal in 2017, stating it has "sentimental value." One of his children is named "X," and the child's real name is a set of letters and symbols. During Twitter's rebranding to X, Elon Musk took the @x username for himself without compensating the owner. The domain x.com now redirects to Twitter.