X, formerly Twitter, installed a lit up sign atop its HQ, neighbors aren't thrilled
SAN FRANCISCO - X, the company formerly known as Twitter, debuted a new sign atop its headquarters in San Francisco Friday night by blasting lights illuminating the X logo.
Elon Musk, former X CEO who purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, shared video of the new sign on his X account which shows the sign’s lights pulsating in the night sky.
X, formerly Twitter, installed a lit up sign atop its HQ, not everyone is thrilled
X, the company formerly known as Twitter, debuted a new sign atop its headquarters in San Francisco Friday night by blasting lights illuminating the X logo. Christopher Beale, a journalist, producer and audio engineer with KQED, lives across the street from the building and said he saw construction on the building throughout the week and on the rooftop, but was not expecting the bright lights. "Around 11 last night they had it at full blast, strobing, and it lit this entire area up like it was daylight," Beale told KTVU.
The new branding attempts are already marked with controversy.
The City of San Francisco on Friday launched an investigation into the new sign, stating that replacing letters or establishing new signs on buildings requires a permit and an inspection to ensure it is structurally sound.
San Francisco police stopped workers on July 24 from removing the Twitter bird and logo from the side of the building because the sidewalk was not cordoned off to keep pedestrians out of harm’s way if anything fell.
Musk said the building owner has repeatedly called the police.
"He keeps calling the police about our sign modifications," Musk tweeted on Saturday.
The City of San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection on Monday said that they received two complaints regarding the work on the sign and were awaiting guidance from City Planning on whether a permit is required to alter the copy on an existing sign.
DBI did not respond to a request for comment regarding the lit up sign as of press time.
Christopher Beale, a journalist, producer and audio engineer with KQED, lives across the street from the building and said he saw construction on the building throughout the week and on the rooftop, but was not expecting the bright lights.
"Around 11 last night they had it at full blast, strobing, and it lit this entire area up like it was daylight," Beale told KTVU. "Even with the shades down…, it was to the point where we couldn't even watch the movie we were trying to watch in the living room and we had to move to the other side of the apartment."
Beale shared video of the new sign’s light blasting into his window on X, formerly Twitter.
"This is my life now," he captioned the video.
Beale said he also saw crews Friday night working on the white Twitter sign on the side of the building. As of now, he doesn't plan on filing a complaint with the city.
"I'm a little annoyed by it, but I'm a journalist, so I kind of just document things and I figure one of my one to 2,000 neighbors will handle the complaint to City Hall," Beale said. "I'm definitely not a fan of its location."