San Francisco investigates Twitter's 'X' sign. Musk responds with a laughing emoji

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection has slapped Twitter with a complaint and launched an investigation after the company installed a flashing "X" sign above its building without a permit.

On Friday, a city inspector went to Twitter's headquarters to alert the company of the violation and to evaluate the sign located on the roof, according to the complaint.

A Twitter representative denied access but explained that the structure is "a temporary lighted sign for an event." The inspector clarified that any signage without a permit must be removed.

The inspector came to the headquarters again on Saturday to visit the roof. But upon arrival, "access was denied again by tenant," the complaint said.

The city violation comes days after San Francisco police stopped workers from removing Twitter's original sign, which includes its name and iconic blue bird, because the company also did not have proper permits and failed to tape off the sidewalk as part of pedestrian safety measures.

As the sign permitting saga was unfolding in San Francisco this weekend, Elon Musk posted a video on Twitter on Saturday unveiling the new black and white signage — the latest in Musk's sweeping rebrand of the social media platform since changes were announced last week.

Twitter did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment. But to a tweet alleging that San Francisco authorities were trying to force Musk to remove the "X" sign, the Twitter owner replied with a laughing-crying emoji. [Copyright 2023 NPR]