CEO of electric car maker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX Elon Musk is considering charging Twitter users $20 (£17.30) a month or $240 a year for a blue tick on their account, as the world’s richest person prepares an overhaul of the social media platform.
The Tesla chief executive is planning changes to Twitter’s Blue subscription service, according to the tech newsletter Platformer, including raising the $4.99 a month fee to $19.99. Users verified by the platform – who carry a blue tick flagging them as an authentic source – would have 90 days to sign up to Blue or lose their check mark, per the Guardian.
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Perhaps more jarring than the new subscription model is the deadline that Musk has allegedly put in place. Per The Verge, Musk has given employees until November 7 to put this new plan into place. If they fail to meet that date, they’ll be fired.
While the move may come as a surprise to some, Musk has previously hinted that he would make such a change.
“The whole verification process is being revamped right now.”
He also flagged a Twitter poll launched on Monday morning asking Twitter users how much they would pay a month for a blue tick: $5; $10; $15; or “wouldn’t pay”. The poll was set up by the tech investor Jason Calacanis, a Musk associate who is part of a team brought in by the multibillionaire to help run the business since the $44bn takeover. A basic subscription on Netflix costs $6.99 or £4.99 a month.
An overwhelming majority of respondents to the poll said they wouldn’t pay at all; but a substantial minority indicated they would.
While his tenure as Twitter’s head honcho is just days old, Musk is already ruffling feathers. Earlier this week, it was reported that use of the N-word had increased on the platform since Musk’s takeover. That prompted LeBron James to call on Musk to do something, per Complex.
I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.
“I don’t know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter,” James tweeted. “But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.”
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Sources: Guardian, Complex
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