Elon Musk said charging for the coveted blue checkmark gives “power to the people”
The wealthiest person in the world and new Twitter owner, Elon Musk, announced on Tuesday that those who wish to have a blue tick by their Twitter nicknames, should have to pay $8 monthly.
Taking to the social platform which he bought for a whopping $44 billion, Musk said that “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls***.”
“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” the businessman, whose fortune is estimated at around $210 billion, said.
Continuing the series of tweets, Musk added that the new fee will give Twitter “a revenue stream to reward content creators.”
Musk also emphasized that the price might vary in different countries “proportionate to purchasing power parity.”
Besides a blue tick, which indicates a verified account, and is currently free of charge, paying users would have priority in replies and searches, and half as many advertisements, he said. The current version of premium subscription, Twitter Blue, costs $4.99 and offers users an opportunity to view articles from certain publishers without advertising, along with more customization options.
Meanwhile, a price of $8 for a blue tick apparently represents a concession from Musk. On Monday, amid media reports that the fee would be $20, the businessman responded to criticism from horror writer Stephen King.
After King said Twitter should have to pay him to stay on the platform, Musk said the company needs to “pay the bills somehow” and that it “cannot rely entirely on advertisers.” He then suggested $8 instead.
As Twitter has not posted a profit in years, Musk, who now describes himself on the social media platform as “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator,” began making changes to the business immediately after buying it. According to the legal documents, filed with financial regulators on Monday, Musk has already dissolved the company’s entire board of directors.
