SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: In an aerial view, a sign is displayed outside of … [+]
When a photo surfaced online last week showing the concealed “W” on the sign outside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, many assumed it was a doctored image. But CEO Elon Musk seems to have confirmed it was real on Sunday night and he’d like Twitter to be known as “Titter” – probably a boob joke.
“Our owner at SF HQ says we are legally required to keep the sign as Twitter and can’t remove the ‘w’, so we painted it in the background color. Problem solved! ” Musk tweeted Sunday with a picture of the sign.
Musk has previously made jokes about Twitter’s “Titter” appeal, even taking a poll in April 2022 asking his followers if the company should be renamed. Musk did not own the company at the time, but was beginning to make moves to acquire the social media platform.
Musk has courted controversy even since he bought the company in October 2022, first laying off thousands of people and then instituting changes on Twitter that he saw as liberating. But critics insisted Musk made the website worse and scared off advertisers in the process.
The billionaire businessman has become a bit of a pariah among polite advertisers as private email messages recently leaked showing several executives nervous about appearing with Musk at an upcoming marketing conference . Musk is sold as a main event at the Possible Conference in Miami later this month.
The reason some advertisers fear being seen with Musk has to do with allegations of racism, particularly after he came to the defense of Scott Adams after the Dilbert cartoonist pleaded for the reintroduction of racial segregation . But it seems equally likely that Musk’s childish antics, including but not limited to jokes like the “Titter” sign – are also fueling this desire by some big brands to distance themselves from Musk.
Twitter responded to questions sent by email on Sunday with a poo emoji – an automated response sent to all journalists who have been set up by Musk. It’s a mystery why people might be embarrassed to be in the same room as Musk. Despite his 51 years, he has a sense of humor identical to that of a small child.