How much does it cost to ruin a brand? Apparently $44 billion, if Elon Musk is any indication. This week, Musk finally completed his planned rebranding of Twitter.
The move started back in April, when Twitter, Inc. was changed to X Corp. This week, the familiar Twitter bird logo was replaced with a simple, stylized “X” logo. The rest of rebranding was a bit of struggle, however. Most of the documentation still refers to Twitter and “tweets”. Musk moved to take down the Twitter sign from the company’s San Francisco headquarters, but that project was stalled by the fact that Musk failed to tell the property owners, causing the police to be called.
Once that matter was resolved, a new “X” sign was placed atop the building, a shining beacon in the night. Of course, the issue there is multifold. Permits are needed to erect a sign on top of a historic building, especially one as bright as the X logo. That brightness is also an issue for the folks who live across from the building, as user Christopher J. Beale noted on Twitter. Complaints have ensued. “Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation,” said Department of Building Inspection spokesperson Patrick Hannan told the Associated Press on Friday. (Right after this post went up, the sign was removed.)