Elon Musk has proposed a fee for the blue verified tick and Stephen King isn’t happy about it.
Amid speculation that Twitter may soon start charging verified users a monthly fee for the blue ticks on their handles, bestselling author Stephen King expressed his disappointment over the proposed fee by tweeting, “$20 a month to keep my blue check? F*** that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
After King took to the platform to air his thoughts on the matter, it quickly drew a response from the self-subscribed ‘Chief Twit’, Elon Musk, who recently took over the platform in a $44 billion deal. “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
It’s only been a few short days since Musk took over the reins at Twitter, and although nothing official has been dropped yet, there are some reports claiming it will be around $5 a month with others putting it as high as $20. Stephen King is not the only verified blue ticker who is not happy with the proposed fee, but he is the most popular with over 58 thousand comments and counting.
King didn’t offer up a response to Musk, however, Musk, who had changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” and has now updated it to “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator”, went on to add that he will explain the rationalise behind charging a fee before any such change is made. He also termed it the “only way to defeat the bots & trolls”.
Needless to say, it prompted a lot of conversation, check out the lengthy Twitter thread below:
$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, Iām gone like Enron.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented. It is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/djohnstonpax/status/1587044891309363200?s=20&t=y04KUYFplmcWiT0J6FoZQw
It ain't the money, it's the principal of the thing.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
It's always the really wealthy ones that are the cheapest šš¤
— Ginny Mobley (@MobleyGinny) October 31, 2022
It's always the really wealthy ones that are the cheapest šš¤
— Ginny Mobley (@MobleyGinny) October 31, 2022
It ain't the money, it's the principle of the thing.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
https://twitter.com/MarcusP62428099/status/1587061018865373186?s=20&t=y04KUYFplmcWiT0J6FoZQw
Only on Twitter can we watch a man worth $200 billion negotiate with a man worth $500 million about saving $12 a month. pic.twitter.com/pttRSHvTtc
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) November 1, 2022
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
