IT’S OFFICIAL: Twitter to charge monthly fee for verified accounts

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla Inc., says Twitter will charge users $8 monthly for its blue check mark.

Musk announced this in a series of tweets on Tuesday.

Getting a blue check mark on Twitter is currently free. The badge lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic.

To qualify, accounts must be “notable, authentic and active.”

Musk said the new pricing system would be adjusted by country “proportionate to purchasing power parity”.

“Twitter’s current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk tweeted.

Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.

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Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022

In the Twitter thread, Musk said subscribers to the new ‘blue’ service would also get priority in replies, mentions and search, which he said was “essential to defeat” spam accounts.

He added that users will also see half as many adverts and will be able to post long video and audio clips.

“This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators,” Musk added.

An earlier report from The Verge had claimed that Twitter was planning to charge $19.99 for verification.

Musk took over Twitter last week after completing a $44 billion deal.

He then went on to fire the company’s top executives including Parag Agrawal, chief executive officer; Ned Segal, chief financial officer; and Vijaya Gadde, the firm’s top legal and policy executive.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Twitter also announced that all the board members were fired and Musk is the sole director in the company.

Musk has also assumed the position of chief executive officer of Twitter.