Elon Musk paints over ‘w’ on Twitter HQ sign so it reads ‘Titter’

Elon Musk arranged for the “w” in the Twitter sign hanging outside the company’s San Francisco headquarters to be painted in white so it blends into the background — leaving the word “Titter” to be displayed.

“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!” Musk, the new CEO who acquired the company for $44 billion last fall, tweeted on Sunday.

In a subsequent tweet, Musk joked: “They tried to muffle our titter.”

Musk on Monday also changed the name that appears on his Twitter profile to “Harry Bōlz.”

In a tweet posted on Monday afternoon, Musk quipped: “On the Internet, I’m only 3 inches tall (best case).”

Several Twitter users who passed by the company’s headquarters in downtown San Francisco posted images showing the “w” in the company name obscured.

Some on Twitter, including programmer William LeGate, reacted negatively, tweeting: “Elon Musk, in a remarkable show of maturity, has removed the W from Twitter’s logo outside their San Francisco HQ.”

Musk has made waves at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters since completing his $44 billion acquisition of the social media giant last fall.

As the deal was about to officially close, Musk walked into the building carrying a sink, a play on the popular internet meme: “Let that sink in.”

He has also sought to auction off items from the company offices including kitchen appliances, Twitter sculptures, furniture, and office plants.

In late December, Twitter was sued by its landlord for allegedly ducking out on rent. At the time the lawsuit was filed, the company is said to have owed $136,260 in unpaid rent.

Musk also ran afoul of San Francisco zoning regulations when he had staffers sleep in their offices overnight — prompting the city to launch a review.

Musk’s management team laid off thousands of employees and cut costs. Cleaning and security staff were also purged.

Employees were also directed to delay paying contractors or vendors — including accountants and consultants working on key regulatory projects.

In February, Musk tweeted that the first three months of his stewardship were “extremely tough” for the company as he scrambled to “save Twitter from bankruptcy.”

“Wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone,” Musk tweeted Sunday regarding the difficult stretch.

“Twitter still has challenges, but is now trending to breakeven if we keep at it. Public support is much appreciated!” he added.

Complicating matters for Twitter is Musk’s in-your-face management style and his revamping of content moderation policies, which have prompted advertisers to flee his platform.

Fourteen of the top 30 advertisers on Twitter stopped all advertising on the platform after Musk took charge on October 27, according to estimates by research firm Pathmatics, which were cited by Reuters.

Four advertisers reduced spending between 92% and 98.7% from the week before Musk’s acquisition through the end of the year.

Overall, advertising spending by the top 30 companies fell by 42% to an estimated $53.8 million for November and December combined, according to Pathmatics, despite an increase in spending by six of them.