San Francisco Police Halt Twitter HQ Sign Change Over Permitting Issue, Box In Self-Driving Cab: ‘This Is So 2023’

Workers began dismantling the iconic vertical logo at Twitter's downtown San Francisco headquarters Monday afternoon to make way for a new one featuring "X" — the brand's new name and logo.

But only the T-W-I-T-T letters were taken down before the San Francisco Police Department responded, halting the project to investigate whether the company had first obtained a permit to close parts of the street.

Meanwhile, a Cruise self-driving robotaxi briefly got stuck behind a crane and police car that were blocking part of the street. "This is so 2023," Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents San Francisco's District 6 told the San Francisco Standard as he watched from the sidewalk.

Police eventually determined that no laws had been broken. The company, which is currently floundering under the leadership of the world's richest man, Elon Musk, had reportedly secured a work order for the sign change but failed to notify the building owners or security.

Copyright lawyers have scrutinized Twitter's unexpected rebranding to X — complete with a new logo featuring a bold, stylized version of the letter — believing it could breach trademark law.

Musk's X-related plans date back to 1999, when Musk set out to create a website with the address "X.com" that could serve as a repository for personal loans, banking, credit cards, and other financial needs.

The new X logo has now replaced the iconic Twitter bird in the top-left corner of the desktop version of the site, although the bird remains on mobile devices.

It's unclear when work on the sign is set to resume.