Washington: Tesla CEO and new Twitter owner Elon Musk has lashed out at his critics about a new plan to charge verified users of the micro-blogging platform a monthly fee of US$8, saying the plan will be implemented despite complaints. Musk has announced that getting a “blue tick” on the microblogging site will now cost around USD 8 a month, prompting a backlash from netizens, who expressed their dismay at Musk’s decision.
Musk’s plan to charge Twitter users to get a verified account has prompted outrage and distrust among some longtime microblogging site users. However, the backlash didn’t bother Musk.
The Tesla boss took to Twitter and confirmed his stance on the matter. “To all complainants, please continue to complain, but it will cost US$8,” he said in a tweet. “Totally stole the idea from Monty Python TBH to charge for insults and arguments,” Musk later said.
To all complainers, please keep complaining, but it will cost $8 – Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 2 November 2022
A day earlier, Musk announced what amounted to a Twitter Plus paid subscription service that would allow users to post longer videos, audios, and combat “spam and scams.”
“The current master and farmer system of Twitter that has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8 a month,” he tweeted. Twitter Blue subscriptions launched widely about a year ago as a way for some publishers to view ad-free articles and make other changes to the app, such as a different colored home screen icon.
Twitter’s current lords and farmers system that has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is rubbish.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 1 November 2022
In April, Twitter accepted Musk’s offer to buy and take the social media service privately. However, Musk soon began to have doubts about his intentions to comply with the agreement, alleging that the company failed to adequately disclose the number of spam and fake accounts on the service.
In July, in a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk, who had long shown his interest in buying Twitter, terminated the deal. The Tesla CEO did this by alleging that Twitter violated their mutual purchase agreement by misrepresenting the number of spam and fake bot accounts on its platform.
After Musk announced the termination of the deal, the market saw a sharp drop. Later, Twitter sued Musk, accusing him of using bots as an excuse to pull out of a deal. Again, last week, Musk confirmed that he would go ahead with the Twitter purchase at the originally agreed price of USD 54.20 per share.