Elon Musk said that verification on Twitter (blue checkmark) will cost $8, despite the objections of users.
"To everyone complaining: please keep complaining, but it will cost $8."
Musk also joked that he stole the idea of charging for insults and arguments from the popular British comedian group Monty Python.
According to the entrepreneur, this option will destroy bots, reduce the number of ads on the platform, and also allow users with verified accounts to post long videos and audio recordings. In addition, the paid feature will give priority to the account in search results or when displaying replies to posts.
Following Musk's announcement that the blue tick would be charged, American writer Stephen King stated that he would quit Twitter if that happened:
“$20 a month to keep the blue badge? Damn it, they should pay me. If this is accepted, I will leave like Enron."
Musk responded to the writer by saying that Twitter needed to "pay the bills somehow" and that the company couldn't rely entirely on advertisers:
“How about $8? I will explain everything in more detail before it is implemented. This is the only way to defeat the bots and trolls."
Musk also said that Twitter will not allow anyone who was removed from the platform for violating the rules to return until the company has a clear plan for this. This will take several weeks, Musk stressed.
"Twitter's content moderation council will include representatives from a wide range of perspectives, including members of the civil rights community and groups that have experienced hate violence."
On October 28, Elon Musk took over Twitter, the purchase deal was completed. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal have left the company. The entrepreneur commented on the deal with a tweet: “The bird is free.” Bloomberg reported that Musk is going to first of all remove the option of "lifetime" blocking of accounts. Users who have already been banned will most likely be able to recover their accounts. The entrepreneur himself said that he bought Twitter not for profit, but to maintain a safe platform for communicating on the Internet and avoid a split in social networks.