One week on, and it seems it wasn't all a dream – or a bad joke. Twitter is still called 'X'. The logo is still the same unicode symbol. Tweets aren't even called Tweets anymore – today the button was edited to read 'Post'. And as is befitting Elon Musk's reign so far, the most controversial rebrand of the year is still finding unpredictable ways to infuriate people.
Days after a botched attempt to change the sign outside its San Francisco headquarters from 'Twitter' to 'X' (the police got involved thanks to a lack of permit), the company installed a giant, illuminated 'X' on the top of the building. And once again, residents aren't happy. (Need a palette cleanser? Take a look at the best logos of all time.)
As you might expect from an enormous light, it's keeping people awake. Residents have taken to Twi... X to share footage of the obnoxiously strobing light. "This is my life now," one laments.
Imagine no more. This is my life now. https://t.co/k5QfAm8yuG pic.twitter.com/e7ECCM2NUDJuly 29, 2023
I don't know which thought is more distressing; 1. That Elon genuinely never thought about how putting a giant strobe light directly in view of an apartment complex is a dick move or 2. He did realize it, physically said lmao like "luh-mow" out loud to himself and did it anyway https://t.co/cOFTUaGeapJuly 30, 2023
According to the Guardian, San Francisco’s building inspectors have said it might be in violation of rules – although one representative from the company said the sign was temporary. Indeed, one of the same residents from above claimed that the sign was "dark" last night – perhaps thanks to the outcry.
It's yet another haphazard development in what is proving to be the most unhinged rebrand we've seen. From design changes lasting hours to the crowdsourcing of the X logo, nothing has been predictable here. It makes the speedy launch of Meta's Threads look positively glacial in comparison.
