Elon Musk: Twitter to start charging $8 monthly for verification

Elon Musk has announced an $8/month Twitter Blue subscription that’ll include a verified blue checkmark for anyone and everyone who pays. The price will be adjusted “by country proportionate to purchasing power parity,” said Musk.

Apart from the coveted blue tick, paying Twitter Blue subscribers will also gain priority in replies, mentions, and searches, the ability to post long videos & audio clips, and half as many ads. There will be a secondary tag for anyone who is a public figure, Musk noted in his announcement thread on Twitter.

Musk says Twitter Blue will cost $8 per month

Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk announced Twitter Blue, a paid version of the social media platform that is currently available for a limited set of users, will be available at $8 per month and will include a verification badge. For those who are complaining on the platform, Musk sent out a message for them too. He said, “To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8.”

Twitter currently doesn’t charge to verify accounts with a blue check mark, and the badge is supposed to be given out to accounts that the company determines are “notable, authentic and active.” The blue check mark is meant to help users determine if an account of a celebrity, journalist or other public figure is fake or not.

Musk’s first action when he took over Twitter three days ago was to fire former CEO Parag Agarwal, CFO Ned Segal, and head of legal Vijaya Gadde. He has long spoken about his desire to make radical changes at Twitter, including a long-term plan to turn it into some sort of a Super app. However, making verified accounts paid may not be the best course of action to keep loyal users on board.

Musk tweeted that the price would be adjusted by country and that the subscription would include “priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam,” as well as the “ability to post long video & audio.” He also said users would see “half as many ads.” 

To address how Twitter will handle the verified blue checkmark for public officials, Musk said(Opens in a new window): “There will be a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians.”

It’s also unclear how the verification system will work. Historically, it’s been available to a limited subset of high-profile users who may be imitated, either as a joke or to spread misinformation. However, Musk has said that he wants to use the system to control bot spam.