The chaos at Twitter might be hard to keep up with, but ICYMI, owner Elon Musk announced Sunday that the company would undergo a sudden name change to "X” and all branding would follow suit.
Less than 24 hours later, that apparently involved the Market Street headquarter building, where contractors tried — and failed — to take down the iconic "@twitter" signage, according to the Standard. Apparently, they lacked the necessary permits for equipment on the street — and the San Francisco Police Department quickly stepped in to shut it all down around 12:50 p.m.
Welp, @twitter name so coming off the building right now but @elonmusk didn’t get permit for the equipment on the street so @SFPD is shutting it down. pic.twitter.com/CFpggWwhhf
— Wayne Sutton (@waynesutton) July 24, 2023
Reportedly, that left the 10th Street side of the building with a sign that only said “er.” (Same.) The Market Street side of the sign remained intact. The bird logo remains, despite Musk’s announcement on the platform that “soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds."
Supervisor Matt Dorsey was also on the scene, and reportedly pointed to a Cruise robotaxi that seemed to be confused by the work equipment at 10th Street. "This is so 2023,” he said.
Amid the spectacle, social media users posted photos and videos of the botched attempt. Twitter's — er, X’s — own trending topics include “#RIPTwitter,” filled with reactions and jokes.
The police shut down the operation to remove Twitter’s name and replace it with X headquarters as Elon Musk reportedly didn’t get permit for all the equipment on the street. pic.twitter.com/K9IrZVNr8d
— Pop Tingz (@ThePopTingz) July 24, 2023
The New York Times reported that the San Francisco headquarters will also soon see conference room names changing to words with the letter X in them, such as “eXposure,” “eXult” and the exceptionally cringeworthy “s3Xy."
The ultimate goal for Elon is reportedly to turn Twitter into an “everything app” called X with everything from social networking to banking to shopping. He's already launched a shell company in Nevada called X Corp., and earlier this month launched an AI company called xAI — and he's even named one of his own children "X."
It should be noted that the attempt to do some unpermitted work follows the pattern described in a lawsuit brought by several former Twitter employees in May, one of whom alleged that Musk and his team wanted a bathroom installed next to his office without a permit and without a licensed contractor.
Related: Something Else Is Happening With Twitter as Musk Sets Up New Company Called X Corp., Based In Nevada
Feature image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
