Elon Musk’s publicity stunt to put a strobe-lit giant “X” atop the headquarters housing his rebranded social media company has cost the building’s landlord nearly $4,500, according to a report.
Musk enraged neighbors and city officials by putting up the structure without a permit last month as part of his campaign to promote X, the company formerly known as Twitter.
The city quickly told the landlord, Shorenstein, to dismantle the steel structure and issued a slew of summonses, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Charges included $761 for a building permit to remove the sign, $1,580 for Planning Department enforcement fees and $2,106 for Department of Building Inspection enforcement fees, according to the outlet.
The landlord has reportedly paid the penalty,
In addition, the cost of removing the X sign was $3,500, according to the retroactive permit issued last Thursday.
It’s unclear if X or Musk will have to pay back Shorenstein.
The landlord, which purchased the building at 1355 Market St. in partnership with JPMorgan Chase in 2011, had sued Musk earlier this year for failing to pay nearly $6.8 million in rent.
X’s law firm, Udell Wang LLP, has since filed court documents stating that the company is current on its rent.
Representatives for Shorenstein and JPMorgan did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Post has sought comment from X.
Musk installed the oversized, pulsating “X” sign on the roof of X headquarters on July 28, immediately drawing the wrath of neighbors.
Prior to removing the sign early July 30, the billionaire touted the display in a 19-second video of the logo lighting up the night sky.
He also mocked his landlord with a tweet saying the company “keeps calling the police about our sign modifications!” alongside a clown emoji, and a meme from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Musk’s enthusiasm for the flashing sign was not shared by many of his fellow Bay Area residents.
“This thing is an eye sore during the day too. Eek,” tweeted Christopher Beale, who shared a video showing how the strobing X sign beams into his apartment.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
