Man Living Near Elon Musk's New Twitter Sign Blasts Bright Lights
Elon Musk had an X sign placed on the roof of the company's San Francisco headquarters on Friday.
Social media users speculated about the logo's brightness, prompting one neighbor to share videos.
The neighbor told local news station KTVU he was "annoyed" at the light pollution outside his home.
Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
A man living across the street from X's San Francisco headquarters said "it's hard to describe how bright" the company's new sign is.
On Friday, Elon Musk had the logo installed atop the building's roof amid the company's transition away from its former name, Twitter. As social media users discussed the rebrand online, one viral post pointed out how the logo's bright lights are aimed directly at the building across the street.
"I would be fucking LIVID. Imagine this fucking X sign right across from your bedroom," the post read.
Christopher J. Beale, a journalist and audio engineer for KQED, responded to the post hours later with his personal insights.
"Imagine no more. This is my life now," he wrote alongside a video showing the illuminated X logo from the window of his home. He also shared a separate video that showed the logo's lights pulsating and strobing in a night club-esque fashion at night.
Beale's post quickly garnered attention from others, with many X users sympathizing with him and discussing the light pollution.
"It legit hurt my eyes when they were testing it in daylight… it's hard to describe how bright it is," Beal told one user.
In an interview with local news station KTVU, Beale said he didn't anticipate the logo's bright lights when construction on the building began this week.
"Around 11 last night they had it at full blast, strobing, and it lit this entire area up like it was daylight," he told the outlet. "Even with the shades down…, it was to the point where we couldn't even watch the movie we were trying to watch in the living room and we had to move to the other side of the apartment."
The new X sign atop the San Francisco headquarters on July 29, 2023. JOSH EDELSON/Getty Images
He told KTVU that he is "a little annoyed" by the sign's brightness, but doesn't plan to file a complaint with the city.
"I'm a little annoyed by it, but I'm a journalist, so I kind of just document things and I figure one of my one to 2,000 neighbors will handle the complaint to City Hall," he said. "I'm definitely not a fan of its location."
Beale and representatives for X did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The saga surrounding the headquarters and signage began on Monday when Musk attempted to remove the former Twitter sign from the side of the building. However, the San Francisco Police Department intervened and halted construction workers from completing the job, citing "a possible unpermitted street closure." The authorities later determined that "no crime was committed, and this incident was not a police matter."
A worker removed the "Twitter" sign from the company's headquarters after owner Elon Musk renamed it "X." Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Following the new X logo's installation, the Associated Press reported that the city of San Francisco opened a complaint and launched an investigation.
Patrick Hannan, a local Department of Building Inspection spokesperson, told AP that a permit is required to erect a sign on a building.
Source: Insider
