Elon Musk says Twitter to start charging $8 per month for blue check mark verification
Chief Twit” Elon Musk outlined a new payment structure to gain a coveted blue check mark.
Musk’s latest plan will have Twitter’s subscription service, Twitter Blue, offer users verification and other benefits for $8 per month, with prices adjusted according to each country’s purchasing power parity. Currently, verification is free.
That idea will likely stay in play after Musk indicated Monday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he will remain CEO of the newly purchased social media platform.
Reports Monday said the company was considering a $20 monthly fee for the blue check mark to the dismay of many verified accounts. Author Stephen King tweeted Monday saying he would leave the social media platform if it began charging that much for a blue check.
closed the deal to buy Twitter after months of legal wrangling between the billionaire and the company’s management.
What is Twitter’s verification process?
According to current Twitter’s current verification requirements, the blue verified badge is meant to signal the authenticity of accounts of public interest such as government office accounts, brands, celebrities and journalists.
Musk called the current verification process a “lords peasants system.”
His vision for the new verification system would give public figures a secondary tag below their name, as is the case for politicians currently.
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How much does Twitter verification cost?
The current Twitter verification process is free, but the account must be “authentic, notable and active” to receive a blue check mark, according to current requirements.
But that may change under Musk.
Twitter Blue. The subscription service was launched in June last year and gives subscribers “exclusive access to premium features,” including an option to edit tweets.
The service currently costs $4.99 per month.
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What’s the blue check mark on Twitter?
The blue badge lets users know an account’s authenticity has been verified by Twitter. Public figures such as politicians, athletes and journalists are typically verified.
Verified accounts are identified with a blue check mark badge next to their display name.
How do I get verified on Twitter?
To get the blue check mark, Twitter requires eligible accounts to be “notable and active” and fall into one of its seven categories for verification:
Here’s how to get the blue check mark
Will Twitter bring back Vine?
Musk’s vision for Twitter will likely bring other big changes at the company. Musk has instructed Twitter engineers to work on a reboot of the six-second video platform Vine, Axios reported Monday.
Twitter shut down Vine in 2016, just three years after launching the service. Axios, citing unnamed sources, said the Vine reboot could be ready by the end of the year.
Separately, The Verge reported Musk told engineers to look into how much work it would take to bring back the video service.
Musk tweeted a poll on Sunday asking if he should bring back Vine.
What else has Musk changed at Twitter?
Twitter’s board was dissolved after Musk took over the company, making him sole director, according to a securities filing.
The company said all nine members of the board of directors were ousted as of the consummation of the $44 billion merger that closed Thursday.
One of Musk’s first moves as owner of Twitter was also firing top executives, including the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal.
News that Musk will continue as CEO of Twitter was not unexpected. But his ability to run five major companies, including Twitter, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Tesla and Neuralink, at the same time has raised questions about how well those duties may be executed.
“Tesla Inc. boss Elon Musk said in a filing on Monday he will serve as chief executive of Twitter, the social media company he just bought for $44 billion, a move that Wall Street analysts have said could stretch the billionaire thin,” Reuters reports. ” … Some staff who spoke with Reuters said they had received little communication from Musk or other leaders and were using news reports to piece together what was happening at the company.”