Elon Musk to Make Verified Twitter Users Pay for Blue Checks

In the first week following his $44 billion takeover of the social media platform, Musk has allegedly given employees an ultimatum: launch a paid model for Twitter verification by November 7 — or pack up and go. Two sources familiar with the matter told Platformerthat executives spent the weekend "discussing the move and making plans related to the project."

Related | Hate Speech Spikes on Twitter Following Elon Musk's Takeover

Paid verification is part of a larger plan to bolster the existing Twitter Blue subscription, which already grants access to additional features for $4.99 monthly, into a more robust $19.99 subscription that also verifies accounts. The Vergereports that users who are already verified would have 90 days to subscribe before losing their blue checkmarks.

The news comes as little surprise, as Musk has previously foreshadowed his plans to remove bots and handle verification. The goal of introducing paid verification via Twitter Blue is to bring in immediate revenue. On Sunday, Musk responded to a Twitter user inquiring into the matter, saying, "The whole verification process is being revamped right now."

Other rumored changes at Twitter include an imminent cuts to the company's staff, which numbers around 7,500. According to the New York Times, some managers have been asked to compile a list of potential employees to lay off.

The self-proclaimed "Chief Twit" landed at Twitter HQ last week, immediately firing top brass including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and head of legal, police, trust and safety Vijaya Gadde. While Musk, who has branded himself as a "free speech absolutist, has assured advertisers that Twitter would not descend into a "free-for-all hellscape," hate speech has spiked sharply on the platform since his takeover.

On October 28, Musk tweeted that he plans to form a "content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints," adding that "no major content decision or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes."

Photo illustration via Getty / Chesnot