San Francisco Removes Elon Musk’s ‘X’ Sign From Company Headquarters

The giant, glowing “X” sign atop the recently re-named Twitter headquarters in San Francisco has been removed by the city due to permit issues.

Twitter’s old blue bird logo was removed last week just hours after Elon Musk opted to rebrand the company as “X” as part of his planned expansion to an “everything app” that will include payment processing, shopping, and other features. Musk had previously changed the company’s name to “X,” though the old Twitter logo remained until the logo change last week.

Over the weekend, a massive, glowing X sign was installed atop the company headquarters in downtown San Francisco. The sign did not last long, however, as city workers were seen removing the sign on Monday.

According to a report from Reuters, the city building department logged 24 complaints from neighbors who complained about the bright lights. “This morning, building inspectors observed the structure being dismantled,” a spokesperson from the city Department of Building Inspection told the outlet in an email on Monday. “The property owner will be assessed fees for the unpermitted installation of the illuminated structure.”

X voluntarily consented to the sign’s removal; city officials added. This was done after representatives from the company denied roof access to inspectors over the weekend.

Our HQ in San Francisco tonight pic.twitter.com/VQO2NoX9Tz

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2023

X sign pulled down above San Francisco HQ pic.twitter.com/hsn5Bzv3AN

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 31, 2023

The move comes not long after Musk stated that company headquarters would be staying in San Francisco despite, the city’s recent “doom spiral, with one company after another left or leaving.”

“Beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend,” Musk wrote in an X post.

Following the sign’s removal, several X users urged Musk to reconsider and relocate to another location. “It is important for more people to come to work in San Francisco or the rest of the city can’t survive,” Musk wrote in a follow-up post on Tuesday night, seemingly unphased by the removal for the time being.