Elon Musk wants you to pay $8 for a blue tick on Twitter, but what will you get in return?

The world’s richest man Elon Musk has revealed the cost of being verified on Twitter. Musk revealed that users will have to shed $8 (roughly Rs 650) to get Twitter Blue and by extension the Twitter blue tick or blue checkmark. Twitter hasn’t put out any official statement. In fact, the company hasn’t really put out much officially since the takeover by Musk. However, being the CEO and sole director of the company, we can take Musk’s word for it.

Musk in his Tweet on Tuesday criticised the “current lords & peasants system” that governs who gets the verified badge and who doesn’t. He insinuated that by offering a paid subscription for the Blue Tick, he is redirecting more “Power to the People!”.

Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.

Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.

Musk’s tweet read, “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”

In the following thread tweets, Musk tried to offer more clarity about the new system to get a Blue Tick of Twitter. Users in India might have to pay relatively low for all the perks as Musk assured that the pricing will be adjusted in countries by the purchasing power parity. He said, “Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity.”

What other benefits will Twitter Blue subscribers get? 

Apart from the coveted Blue Tick, the subscribers will get some perks that will let them get highlighted in conversations. Musk said that subscribers will get the following:

- Priority in replies, mentions & searches, (Musk claimed it is essential to defeat spam/scam)
- Ability to post long video & audio
- Half as many ads

Furthermore, to attract creators and publishers to the platform, he claimed that Twitter will allow a paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with them. This will incentivize creators with a new revenue stream.

Another change will be that public figures will get a new tag below their name. However, this feature won’t be given to all Twitter Blue users.

As inquisitive as Twitter is, Musk was questioned about the new verification system and the perk associated with them. One user named elrubius asked Musk a question, “What happens when a random user pays $8 and changes his Display Name to Elon Musk, using your same profile pic and starts tweeting like he's you?”

To the question, Musk answered, “That already happens very frequently.”