The ‘w’ in question.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Elon Musk painted over the “w” in Twitter’s name on the sign outside its San Francisco headquarters.
He said Twitter’s landlord told the company that the sign was legally required to read as “Twitter.”
“So we painted it background color. Problem solved!” Musk tweeted on Sunday.
Elon Musk appears to really want the sign outside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters to say “Titter” — and he was ready to have some paintwork done to make it happen.
In a tweet on Sunday, the social media platform’s CEO posted a picture of the sign with the “w” painted over in white to blend in with the background.
Musk wrote in his caption: “Our landlord at SF HQ says we’re legally required to keep sign as Twitter & cannot remove ‘w’, so we painted it background color. Problem solved!”
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2023
Musk’s scheme to change the “Twitter” sign to “Titter” appears to have been in the works for a few days, per photos of the building uploaded to the platform by several Twitter users.
Last Thursday, entrepreneur and programmer William LeGate tweeted a picture of the sign, which had the “w” obscured.
“Elon Musk, in a remarkable show of maturity, has removed the “w” from Twitter’s logo outside their San Francisco HQ,” LeGate’s caption read.
—LeGate🤠 (@williamlegate) April 6, 2023
The building’s landlord, SRI Nine Market Square LLC, did not immediately respond to Insider’s query on why the initial alteration was unacceptable, and whether the new, painted-over signage would be allowed.
Musk has made several drastic changes to the company’s San Francisco headquarters since he took over Twitter. In January, he tried to sell hundreds of things from the office to boost income for Twitter, like kitchen appliances, Twitter sculptures, furniture, and even office plants.
And in December, Twitter cut janitorial services in the headquarters, forcing employees to bring their own toilet paper to the office.
The disagreements over the Twitter sign are the latest in the longstanding feud Musk has had with the building’s landlord, SRI Nine Market Square LLC. The landlord sued the Musk-owned Twitter in January. The lawsuit accused Twitter of not paying rent of roughly $3.4 million per month in December and January for the headquarters’ Market Street premises.
Separately, Musk has also been tinkering with Twitter’s interface. Last week, Musk replaced Twitter’s bird logo with the Shiba Inu — or doge — mascot. Following this change stocks of the meme cryptocurrency that Musk supports, called Dogecoin, soared by 20%.
Musk did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.