After being acquired by Elon Musk, Twitter underwent both structural and managerial changes, bidding farewell to its iconic blue bird logo not too long ago. Simultaneously undergoing a name change, the social media platform will now continue under the X brand.
The first action taken after this alteration was to change the signage of the company’s headquarters in San Francisco. However, the light emitted by the new sign was so bothersome that due to complaints from people in surrounding buildings, it was taken down within a few days. While the San Francisco city administration decided to impose fines due to the logo, Elon Musk’s reaction at this point garnered significant criticism.
Elon Musk made the building owner pay the fine he caused
The San Francisco Building Inspection Department concluded its investigation into the discomfort caused to the surroundings by X’s sign (formerly Twitter’s). In this context, a fine of $4,447 was levied. Here’s where the interesting part of the story begins. It wasn’t Elon Musk who paid the fine, but the owner of the building.
Officials, upon receiving complaints, attempted to inspect the sign by going up to the roof of the headquarters. However, the X management outright declined this request. As a result, a fine was imposed on the property owner due to “lack of permission.”
Upon the spread of this incident on social media, a user shared a post describing the fine for the sign as “the cheapest marketing campaign of all time.” Elon Musk responded to this post with a GIF featuring an unforgettable scene from Al Pacino, further adding fuel to the fire. Musk’s response drew significant backlash, especially considering his prior legal disputes with the property owner over unpaid rent for the headquarters.
