Elon Musk’s X has blocked San Francisco building inspectors from accessing its headquarters building to inspect a giant, makeshift “X” installed on the roof last week.
According to San Francisco’s city permit and complaint tracker, building inspectors tried to gain access to the building on Friday and Saturday, and were denied entry both times. A complaint had been filed with the city for installing the structure without a permit.
The structure appears to be held in place by sandbags, photos of the rooftop show, posing a potential hazard in high winds or an earthquake.
According to city records, a building inspector was declined access Friday and told by an X representative that “the structure is a temporary lighted sign for an event.” The inspector tried again Saturday, “However, upon arrival access was denied again by tenant.”
X, formerly known as Twitter, installed the giant “X” on Friday. San Francisco officials have said the structure is illegal, and would require a permit for design and safety reasons. It was unclear what penalties X could face.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Twitter signed a lease in 2011 that specifically banned rooftop signs.
The “X” has been lit up at night, drawing more complaints from those in neighboring residential buildings.
When asked for comment Sunday, X — which typically replies to press inquiries with an auto-generated poop emoji — said “We’ll get back to you soon.”
In a post Saturday, Musk complained that the building’s landlord “keeps calling the police about our sign modifications,” adding a clown emoji.
Last Monday, police officer stopped workers from removing the Twitter sign on the side of the building, as it too was done without a permit and its crane posed a hazard to traffic and pedestrians. Despite multiple clashes with city officials and repeatedly flaunting city regulations, Musk on Saturday posted that X will not move to another city, saying “San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend.”
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