Elon Musk indicated on Tuesday that a verified account on Twitter in the future could cost $8 a month, despite facing a user backlash over proposals to charge for the feature.
In a Tuesday tweet to his more than 110 million followers, the new owner of Twitter described the current system for allocating blue check marks – which verify a user as a trustworthy source – as “bullshit”.
“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 wrote; suggesting that a tick could be given to accounts that subscribe to the platform’s premium service, Blue.
Musk further stated that costs might vary according to country. Several nations, including the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, offer Twitter’s Blue service. In its current form, the service offers a more limited range of benefits, such as the ability to undo tweets. It costs $4.99 per month in the US.
Musk claimed in the Twitter discussion that Blue subscribers would also receive preference in responses, mentions, and searches. This, he said, is “important to combat” spam accounts. Users will also be able to submit lengthy video and audio clips and view half as many advertisements. No timing for the changes was announced.
On Monday, information about Musk’s plans to charge for verification leaked, which infuriated several users, including Stephen King. King, who had tweeted that if a $20 tick charge were implemented “I’m gone like Enron.”
A Twitter poll floating the idea had an 80% response for the option “wouldn’t pay”. However, one of Elon Musk’s investors in the acquisition of Twitter backed the $8 plan. The founder and chief executive of Binance, said he supported the plan since it would deal with annoying bots. Binance has invested $500 million in the agreement.
