Elon Musk wants to take money for a blue tick on Twitter, Stephen King did not like it: the dialogue turned out to be epic

A tweet by best-selling author Stephen King expressing disappointment at the expected fee for a confirmed badge drew a response from none other than Elon Musk, who recently acquired the microblogging platform in a $44 billion deal. NDTV.

Photo: IStock

Last week, Musk officially took control of Twitter, a site with over 237 million daily active users that has historically struggled to monetize its content despite its significant impact on public discourse.

Amid speculation that Twitter may soon start charging verified users a monthly fee for blue checkmarks next to their name, Stephen King wrote: “$20 a month to keep my checkmark? Damn it, they should be paying me. If this measure is introduced, then I will leave, like Enron. King was referring to the situation when the bankrupt energy company Enron left the market at one time.

$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron.

- Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022

There is a lot of speculation about the monthly fee, with some reports claiming it will be around $5 per month, others as high as $20. The reference to Enron in the author's tweet refers to the epic fall of a major American corporation after years of rapid growth.

Responding to King's tweet, Musk said, "We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”

We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?

- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022

The Tesla CEO, who changed his Twitter bio to "Top Tweet" and has now updated it to "Twitter Complaints Hotline Operator," added that he will explain the rationale for charging before any such changes are made. . He also called it "the only way to defeat bots and trolls".

On the subject: You will always be 'online': Tesla will release a smartphone with unusual features

The hype around the verified check mark fee has sparked a heated debate, with many saying it's not worth paying for a blue check mark, and others arguing that there's nothing wrong with charging people for a blue badge.

Musk said the account verification process is being reviewed. He did not add any details.

According to the report, users will have to subscribe to Twitter Blue for $4,99 a month or lose their "verified" badges if the project moves forward.

The CEO of Tesla Inc hasn't made a final decision yet, and the project could still be scrapped, but Platformer says it's likely that this will become part of Twitter Blue.

Twitter Blue launched last June as the platform's first subscription service to offer "exclusive access to premium features" based on a monthly subscription, including a tweet editing feature.

New York Post reports that Musk has instructed his employees to come up with a plan for the new subscription service within days — or they will be fired.

The company's latest earnings report showed a net loss of $270 million, a sharp departure from a profit of $66 million a year earlier.

Twitter also reported $1,18 billion in revenue, down more than 1% from last year.

Musk's plan to generate revenue by charging fees for blue-tick subscriptions has met with backlash from prominent figures, including CNBC's Jim Cramer.

“I won’t pay them anything. They have to pay me, ”the Mad Money host said on October 31.

Kramer's co-anchor David Faber agreed, saying "I don't pay Twitter any more than I pay Netflix every month."

A banker familiar with the Twitter mindset said charging for a badge is the easiest way for a company to make a quick profit - and argued that for most users who have spent years building their Twitter profile and online brand, shelling out $19,99. XNUMX per month is a fait accompli.

“There is no alternative platform for global social discourse,” the banker said. “Are you really going to give up everything and start from scratch, sparing $20 a month?”

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Jason Calacanis, the venture capitalist who advises Musk, conducted a poll on Twitter late on October 30 whether users were willing to pay for the blue tick.

Over 81% of respondents said they would not pay for the privilege. In response to a poll by Calacanis, Musk wrote, "Interesting."

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