Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has that the social media platform would charge $8 per month for its Twitter Blue subscription service, which includes a verified blue tick badge for users.
“Twitter’s current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk wrote in a tweet, adding that the price will be “adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity.”
The blue ‘verified’ badge was earlier given to users without a monthly fee, to let people know that an account of public interest is authentic. Earlier, users with an ‘authentic, notable, and active’ account could request to get verified to receive the blue badge.
Musk said on Tuesday that the $8 per month subscription will give users priority in replies, mentions and search, which, according to Musk, is “essential to defeat spam/scam.” Twitter Blue subscribers will also get to post longer videos and audios and see half as many ads.
Twitter’s Blue subscription service, which was launched in June last year, gave subscribers early access to features such as reader mode, customisable app icons, and the ability to undo a tweet.
Musk’s announcement comes after it was reported that Twitter could charge $20 per month for its Blue subscription. Subsequently, bestselling author Stephen King said in a tweet, “$20 a month to keep my blue check?” He said, “If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
Musk replied to King’s tweet, “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
A Twitter poll recently asked, “How much would you pay to be verified and get a blue checkmark on Twitter?” The poll received 19,63,860 votes, with most users saying they “wouldn’t pay” for the blue checkmark.
However, Musk, in a tweet, reiterated, “To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8.”
Last week, the micro-blogging platform was acquired by Musk. In the past, Twitter has relied mainly on advertising revenue. However, Musk plans to generate revenue through subscriptions as well.
Meanwhile, Twitter’s ad sales chief, Sarah Personette, tweeted on Tuesday that she had resigned last week. Dalana Brand, Twitter’s Chief People and Diversity Officer, also said on Tuesday that she had resigned last week.
The resignations follow an exodus of top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, legal, policy and trust chief Vijaya Gadde, and General Counsel Sean Edgett, after Musk took ownership of Twitter.
Musk will run Twitter as the Chief Executive Officer, he announced in an SEC filing. Another SEC filing stated that, as a result of the acquisition, Musk has become the sole director of Twitter.
Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, founder of The Boring Company, and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. He runs five firms.
