The city of San Francisco is conducting an investigation following the installation of a giant “X” sign on top of the downtown building that used to be Twitter headquarters. The owner of the building, Elon Musk, has been rebranding the social media platform and this sign is part of that process.
According to city officials, replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or putting up a sign on top, requires a permit for design and safety purposes.
The installation of the “X” sign came after San Francisco police prevented workers from removing Twitter’s iconic bird and logo from the building earlier in the week. The police stated that the workers had failed to tape off the sidewalk to ensure pedestrian safety in case anything fell.
If any letters or symbols are to be replaced, a permit is required to ensure that they are consistent with the historical nature of the building and properly attached to the sign. Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, mentioned this earlier in the week.
Furthermore, a permit is also required for the installation of a sign on top of a building. Hannan made this statement on Friday.
“Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation,” Hannan mentioned in an email.
Elon Musk introduced a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s well-known blue bird as he reimagines the social media platform that he purchased for $44 billion last year. The “X” began appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday.
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, has always been fascinated with the letter “X” and had already changed Twitter’s corporate name to X Corp. after acquiring it in October. One of his children is named “X,” and the child’s actual name is a combination of letters and symbols.
On Friday afternoon, a worker made adjustments to the sign using a lift machine and then left.
