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Elon Musk's giant 'X' sign is going to cost his landlord fees for building without a permit

Aug 2, 2023, 13:22 IST
Business Insider
Elon Musk in June 2023 at the Viva Tech conference.Chesnot/Getty Images
  • The San Francisco landlord of X's headquarters will be charged fees over Elon Musk's sign antics.
  • Musk had a big "X" logo installed atop the headquarters for the company formerly known as Twitter.
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Elon Musk is causing more headaches for the landlord of the San Francisco, California, headquarters of X, the social media giant formerly called Twitter.

San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection told Insider that the property owner of the building located at 1355 Market Street will be charged fees for the lack of permits related to the recent erection and dismantling of Musk's massive "X" sign atop the building.

It's not yet clear how much the property owner will be billed over the sign.

X and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Insider on Tuesday, nor did the reps for the landlord of the company's headquarters, SRI Nine Market Square LLC, an affiliate of real estate investment firm Shorenstein.

Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media company now rebranded as X, had the huge "X" logo put on the roof of the company's headquarters on Friday, prompting a slew of complaints from angry neighbors.

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The sign — which some locals complained looked "unstable" and had a "distressing strobing light" — was seen being taken down by construction workers on Monday.

A spokesman for the Department of Building Inspection told Insider that the property owner of the building "will be assessed fees for the unpermitted installation of the illuminated structure."

Workers prepare to dismantle a large X logo on the roof of X headquarters on July 31, 2023.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

"The fees will be for building permits for the installation and removal of the structure, and to cover the cost of the Department of Building Inspection and the Planning Department's investigation" into the unpermitted "X" sign, the spokesman, Patrick Hannan, said.

Hannan told Insider that the fees "will be based on the valuation of the work that was performed without a permit, the cost of the investigation, and the cost of the original permit."

The fees, Hannan said, will be calculated when a permit application is submitted.

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A building permit was required to remove the "X" sign but, "due to safety concerns," the permit can be obtained after the fact, Hannan said.

City officials had issued a notice of violation on Friday after the "X" sign was put up on the building's roof without a permit.

Over the weekend, the Department of Building Inspection received 24 complaints about the sign, which the agency said included "concerns about its structural safety and illumination."

Meanwhile, it's not the first time Musk, who purchased Twitter for $44 billion last year, has had problems with the building's landlord.

In January, the landlord of the building filed a lawsuit, accusing Musk and the social media company of failing to pay millions of dollars in rent.

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X leases about 462,855-square-feet of office space at 1355 Market Street.

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