'X' sign gone from former Twitter HQ as city officials inundated with complaints
The flashy, annoying 'X' sign that had San Francisco residents up in arms has been removed from what was formerly known as Twitter HQ.
The sign, which was erected atop the building earlier this week, garnered several complaints from residents living across the street from it, who now had to deal with bright, obnoxious light filtering in through their bedroom windows.
"Imagine this f***ing X sign right across from your bedroom," wrote one miffed Twitter user, to which journalist Christopher Beale, who lives in the building across from the sign, replied: "Imagine no more. This is my life now."
In the few short days the sign was up, it garnered dozens of complaints, which were filed with the City of San Francisco, which even opened its own complaint and launched an investigation into the sign.
Workers get ready to dismantle the 'X' logo that sparked controversy in San Francisco (Getty Images)Officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings or erecting signs atop them generally requires a permit, which it's unclear whether X mogul Elon Musk acquired.
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The permits are required for design and safety purposes.
The bright lights from the X logo annoyed residents living across the street from it (AP)It went up after the San Francisco police stopped workers from taking down the company's former iconic blue bird logo, which they had reportedly tried to do without putting up any tape or blocking off the sidewalk to ensure pedestrian safety.
"The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation," wrote Paul Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection.
The sign went up on Friday, and that afternoon, a worker on a lift machine made a few adjustments to the structure, then left.
Elon Musk's obsession with the letter X has been noted by the public for a while (AP)Just three short days later, the sign has been removed, but it's yet unclear why it was taken down.
A video from NBC Bay Area shows crews taking down the sign.
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection didn't respond to NBC's request for comment Monday night, and neither did representatives from X.
The drama surrounding the sign is just another drop in an ocean of controversy engulfing Musk and his company.
Twitter was sold to the Tesla and SpaceX mogul for $44 billion, and he assumed control of the company in October. One of his first orders of business was to fire droves of employees.
It's unclear whether Elon Musk or his company, X, formerly known as Twitter, got permits for their sign (AFP via Getty Images)He also changed the name of the corporation to X Corp. Now, the rest of the company has been rebranded as such — the iconic, cute little blue bird has been replaced with a sinister looking letter.
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The launch of the rebranding occurred last Monday, when the logo began appearing on the desktop version of Twitter. It then spread to encompass the entire platform.
It's no secret that Musk likes the letter 'X,' however. He nicknamed one of his children that, though the child's full name is a string of letters and symbols that had — and still has — the public baffled as to the proper pronunciation.
Various experts in the legal sector have warned that rebranding Twitter to X could cause litigation between the company and competitor brands like Meta, which uses the 'X' in some of its trademarks.
It's unclear what will happen now that the sign has been removed — whether it will be put up again or be removed permanently from the building is yet to be seen.
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