Giant flashing X sign removed from Twitter's San Francisco HQ after complaints from neighbours

1 August 2023, 08:01

A giant flashing X sign has been removed from the rooftop of Twitter’s San Francisco HQ after bothering neighbours with its glaring bright light.

Elon Musk ordered the installation of the giant X - and it was installed last Friday, casting a bright light over neighbouring apartments.

Twenty four residents had complained to the city’s authorities over the structure, sparking an investigation from building inspectors.

Officials were initially denied access to the roof, but were eventually allowed in and yesterday it emerged the X had been taken down.

Elon Musk had proudly tweeted a video of the sign on Saturday.

It comes after the billionaire's rebrand of Twitter. He changed the logo to a white X on a black background and ditched the famous blue and white bird logo.

It chimes with the billionaire's other brands Space X and the Tesla Model X - and the businessman joked he was fond of the letter.

He has changed his own profile picture to the logo as well.

Musk said he wanted tweets to be called "x's" and the "whole concept" of retweets should be "rethought".

Yaccarino posted an image of it being projected onto the Twitter HQ. It replaces Larry the Bird, which was invented in tribute to a Boston Celtics basketball star.

"It's an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression," she said.

"Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square."

Rumours persist that Musk wants to develop a super-app called X - and Yaccarino said: "X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.

Read more: Musk’s Twitter is hanging on by a Thread as Meta launches rival social media platform

"There’s absolutely no limit to this transformation. X will be the platform that can deliver, well….everything. @elonmusk and I are looking forward to working with our teams and every single one of our partners to bring X to the world."

Mr Musk has said on Sunday: "And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds."

He is embroiled in a battle with Meta, which itself has a range of social media products under its brand, including Instagram and WhatsApp, and has pledged itself to building the "Metaverse".

It has most recently launched Threads, a similar app to Twitter that has brought Musk and Mark Zuckerberg's brands into direct competition.

Twitter imposed a limit on how many tweets users can see each day, which is thought to have helped drive interest and sign ups to Threads.