New owner, new rules, new prices. Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk has announced that those who want to get a verified account will have to shell out $8 per month. In a thread of tweets, Musk also listed the perks that will be offered to those with the blue check mark. The development comes shortly after the SpaceX and Tesla CEO engaged in “negotiation” and mentioned the price in a reply to a tweet by American author Stephen King.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” he tweeted. He also said that the price of the subscription will be “adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity” hinting at a possible global launch of Twitter Blue.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the… https://t.co/k02ALYVvAu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 1667324208000
Apart from the “blue tick”, those who subscribe to ‘Blue for $8 per month’ will also get “priority in replies, mentions and search – which is essential to defeat spam/scam, ability to post long video and audio, and half as many ads.”
There is a paywall bypass for publishers who are willing to work with Twitter. Musk says that this subscription model “will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators.” People with blue ticks will also have “a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians.”
Few hours before making the announcement, Musk replied to American author Stephen King that Twitter wants to charge for ‘verification’ because the company “has to pay the bills.” He also said that making people subscribe to the service “is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls.” Twitter’s new top boss, however, did not “explain the rationale in longer form” as he noted in his tweet to King.
