Twitter’s most influential users gave Elon Musk a hard time. For the idea of the social media platform charging verified accounts $20 a month to keep their blue check-mark badges. The world’s richest man mused aloud if $8 per month might be a more suitable option.
On Sunday, Musk intended to increase the charges of the Twitter Blue membership plan from $4.99 to $19.99 per month. In addition, it would make the service the sole method to maintain verified-user status. Accordingly, users would have 90 days to sign up for the subscription service before their verified status was canceled.
Many others, including author Stephen King, expressed their opinions on the matter and were forthright in their responses.“$20 a month to keep my blue check?” King tweeted Monday to his 6.9 million followers. “Fuck that, and they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.” But, he added, “It ain’t the money; it’s the principle of the thing.”
Elon Musk, in reply, said, “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
“I will explain the rationale in a longer form before this is implemented. It is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls.” It’s conceivable Musk was being facetious about the $8/month price point — and that he intends to go ahead with the $20/month plan anyway.
Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio
Musk also altered his bio’s title from “Chief Twit” to “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator” on Monday.
After removing prior CEO Parag Agrawal and other top Twitter managers and dissolving the previous Twitter board after taking the business private, Musk named himself CEO in SEC filings.
2009 saw the launch of verified accounts on Twitter. The objective was not to make money but just to increase trust in the social network by giving a visual cue.
The notable account holders, such as celebrities, politicians, businesses, entertainment brands, news organizations, and various other accounts “of public interest,” were only the real deal, not fake or impersonator accounts.
