Elon Musk is looking to charge verified users $20 per month ($240 annually) to keep their blue checkmarks on their accounts.
According to the tech newsletter Platformer, the CEO of Tesla plans to expand Twitter Blue, the social network’s optional $4.99 subscription service, to a more expensive subscription that also verifies users for $19.99. Under the plan, users already verified by the platform would have 90 days to join Twitter Blue or risk losing their checkmark.
Although he didn’t address the news directly, Musk tweeted on Sunday that “the whole verification process is being revamped right now.”
On Monday, a Twitter poll was launched asking users how much they would pay for a blue checkmark: $5; $10; $15; or “wouldn’t pay.”
Most respondents to the poll said they wouldn’t pay anything; however, a significant minority indicated they would.
As of 2021, there were roughly 400,000 verified members on Twitter.
The “blue check” was first introduced in 2009 as a response to rising celebrity concerns about impersonation. However, it quickly became a status symbol rather than a straightforward identification mark.
It is estimated that Musk’s loan repayments to buy the site will total $1bn, even if every verified user paid the fee.
However, Musk may have bigger goals: he stated he wanted to “verify all humans,” and expanding Twitter’s niche subscription service could generate significant revenue.
