Elon Musk is about to get a whole lot richer as he’s planning to begin charging eight dollars a month for the venerated BLUE CHECKMARK. Forbes reports there are about 300 thousand “Blue Checks” currently on Twitter. If only 10 percent of them opt-in to this new fee he’ll rake in a handsome $240 thousand dollars per month or nearly 2.9 million dollars per year. Not a bad start for his return on investment. But will AOC be one of those 30 thousand who keep her shiny badge?
On Wednesday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York sparred on Twitter over his plan to charge $8 per month for Twitter Blue and the blue check denoting certification.
“Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan,” AOC tweeted.
Elon Musk replied, “Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8.”
On Tuesday, Musk first made his plan public, tweeting, “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls***. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”
For the $8 monthly fee, Musk explained that users get “priority replies, mentions, and searches, which are essential for combating spam/scam – Post long video & audio – and see Half as many ads.”.
Depending on the country, the price will be adjusted. Additionally, to indicate someone is a public figure, there will be a secondary tag below the blue check.
Musk also replied to CNN CNContributor Frida Ghitis, who wrote on Twitter that it’s “so sad watching [Musk] play with [Twitter] like it’s a toy and [he’s] a child.”
Musk simply wrote in response, “$8.”
Eric Voorhees, a private investor who is also verified on Twitter, wrote in a tweet, “Let’s remember that Elon Musk charging $8 for premium Twitter means Twitter becomes the product again instead of you.”
Musk responded to that tweet by commenting with a bullseye emoji.
Going back to mocking AOC, Elon Musk posted photos of her $58 sweatshirts available on the congresswoman’s website. One shirt says “tax the rich” while the other simply just sports her name.
Musk also posted this meme that reads on the left side, “$8/month for Twitter verification? So much for free speech” and on the right side, “You can still use for Twitter for free, just without the benefits.”
He also posted this meme that compares the $8 monthly charge to a Starbucks frappuccino drink that costs about the same and only lasts for 30 minutes.
Others joined in on the fun mocking AOC in memes for her pushback against the $8 monthly charge.
In related news, Business Insider reports that after Musk mocked AOC for her pushback against the monthly charge, the congresswoman said she was “conveniently” having issues with her Twitter account, blaming Musk for the matter.
She tweeted, “Also my twitter mentions/notifications conveniently aren’t working tonight, so I was informed via text that I seem to have gotten under a certain billionaire’s skin. Just a reminder that money will never buy your way out of insecurity, folks.”
