EXCLUSIVE: Worse for wear? ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk leaves his mother’s NYC apartment after Halloween party with Heidi Klum’s A-list crowd – as he confirms blue tick will cost $8-a-month because it’s ‘lords & peasants system is bulls***’
- New Twitter CEO Elon Musk was pictured leaving his mother’s New York City apartment on Tuesday to head back into Twitter’s NYC office for the second time this week following his $44 billion takeover
- During his trip, Musk confirmed on Twitter that access to its verified checkmark system will go from being free to costing $8-a-month
- He described the current verified program as a ‘lords & peasants system,’ calling it ‘bulls***’
- The price announcement came following a spate of complaints over a proposed $20-per-month cost
- Musk appeared to mull over the criticism after visiting Twitter’s New York City headquarters and attending supermodel Heidi Klum’s Halloween party
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the social media platform’s verified checkmark system will cost $8-a-month after he was spotted leaving his mother’s New York City apartment following Heidi Klum’s Halloween bash.
Musk, who also serves as the CEO of Space X, was seen sporting his ‘Occupy Mars’ T-shirt as he left his mother’s home to head into Twitter’s New York City headquarters for the second-day following his $44 billion takeover.
As he made the rounds in his new business, Musk explained his plan for Twitter’s verified system on the social media platform itself.
‘Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,’ the new Chief Twit wrote. ‘Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.’
A blue tick badge allows other Twitter users to verify that other users are who they say they are.
Musk added that those who sign-up for the system will get ‘priority in replies, mentions and search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam, ability to post long video and audio, half as many ads, and paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us.’
The world’s richest man previously mulled a $20 per month blue tick verification fee, but appeared to lower the cost following criticism from horror author Stephen King.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk was pictured leaving his mother’s New York City home to head back into Twitter’s NYC office
It was the Chief Twit’s second visit to the office this week following his $44 billion takeover
During his trip, Musk confirmed on Twitter that access to its verified program will go from being free to costing $8-a-month
The decision came following backlash over his plans to start the subscription charge, with celebrities, including horror author Stephen King, among the vocal critics of a previously proposed $20-a-month charge
Pictured: Musk following his security detail on Tuesday as he entered the back of Twitter’s NYC headquarters
Musk, clad in red Samurai armor, showed up at Heidi Klum’s 21st annual Halloween Party at the Moxy Hotel on Monday
Musk is looking to make good on his promise to make the social media platform turn a profit by introducing a charge for Twitter users wanting to keep their verification badge.
His plan to reportedly charge $20-a-month, however, appeared to sit poorly with King, who tweeted: ‘$20 a month to keep my blue check? F*** that, they should pay me,’ wrote King, who has 6.9million followers. ‘If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.’
Musk replied, ‘We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers.
‘How about $8’ he asked, which appears to be the price he’s settled on.
King isn’t the only blue-tick Twitter user to threaten to abandon their blue ticks if a charge is introduced to the platform.
Author Stephen King, who wrote The Shining, said he will leave the platform if Musk introduces a blue-tick verification charge
Musk appeared to haggle with the horror author, suggesting the $8 price he ultimately decided on
Actress, writer and comedian Kathy Burke also said she wouldn’t pay, tweeting: ‘Musk can f*** off with his idea of charging blue-tickers. I give my all to this hell site for FREE.
‘Cheeky b**** should be paying ME,’ she added. ‘Don’t need the poxy thing anyway.’
Celebrities who have threatened to boycott the site include TV screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, actor Mia Farrow, as well as Madam Secretary star Téa Leoni, She Hulk actor Jameela Jamil, as well as authors and activists Shaun King and Amy Siskind.
George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, also said he would consider heading for the digital door.
Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis posted a poll on Monday asking people if they would pay $5, $10 or $15 a month, or nothing for verification. Around 81 per cent said they wouldn’t pay, as of Tuesday.
‘Interesting,’ said Musk in response to the poll.
Critics have derided the mark, often granted to celebrities, politicians, business leaders and journalists, as an elite status symbol.
But Twitter also uses the blue check mark to verify activists and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, as an extra tool to curb misinformation coming from accounts that are impersonating people.
Actress, writer and comedian Kathy Burke also said she wouldn’t pay if a charge is introduced tot he platform
Musk appears to have taken Monday’s criticism from the public to heart as he opted to lower the proposed blue mark cost following his outing to Klum’s premier Halloween party.
The world’s richest man was pictured arriving at the party in a red Samurai-style costume as reports emerge that he is preparing to cut close to 2,000 Twitter jobs, amounting to around 25 percent of its workforce.
Musk looked triumphant as he posed on the red-carpet in his armor, with his street clothes still visible underneath. It’s not clear what Musk was supposed to be dressed as for Klum’s celebration
According to the website for the high-end costume store, Abracadabra NYC, Musk’s outfit is the Devil’s Champion-Leather Armor set that retails for $7,500. At the time of writing, the website says that there is only one costume remaining in stock.
The billionaire’s mother, Maye, was also present at the party and inside Twitter’s offices on West 17th Street.
Musk arrives with his mother, Maye, at Klum’s annual bash in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood
It’s not clear what Musk was supposed to be dressed as for Klum’s celebration
Twitter limits some content moderation tools just days before the midterms
Days after Elon Musk took over Twitter and just before the midterms in America, the social media site has limited some content moderation tools.
It may hamper staff’s ability to stop misinformation, as they will not be able to manually change or punish accounts.
The change is the latest implemented by Musk and comes after he made significant staff cuts and fired the Twitter board, making himself the sole member.
Those working in Twitter’s Trust and Safety organization are currently unable to alter or punish accounts breaking the platform’s rules on misleading information, offensive posts and hate speech.
According to insiders on the matter, they can only penalize people making posts that violate Twitter rules to the extent of real-world harm, according to Bloomberg.
They added that the team were manually enforcing those posts.
The change is the latest implemented by Musk, pictured at Twitter HQ, and comes after he made significant staff cuts and fired the Twitter board, making himself the sole member
At Twitter, staff have dashboards, called agent tools, in order to ban or suspend accounts that have breached policy.
Policy breaches can be detected automatically or flagged by other Twitter users.
However, only Twitter employees can remove or suspend accounts by using the dashboard.
But the tools have been out of use since last week, according to insiders.
It is alleged that this restriction has been put in place as Twitter transitions to Musk ownership in a bid to stop changes to the app being asked for by employees.
Sources at the company who asked to remain anonymous revealed that the high level of access to the tools given to employees has dropped from in the hundreds to just 15.
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