It’s possible that verified Twitter (TWTR stock) users could soon be required to pay to maintain their blue check marks.
Elon Musk has indicated that he intends to implement a subscription model for Twitter Inc.’s authentication procedure. This new strategy is meant to create another revenue stream beyond advertising for the social media firm.
Mr. Musk made this suggestion in a series of tweets that he posted early on Tuesday morning Eastern Time. He said that Twitter users might be charged $8 per month to have a verified account. He was replying to prior rumors that he was considering establishing a $ 20-per-month membership plan. His comments were in response to those reports.
“We need to figure out a way to pay the bills!” he wrote. There is a limit to how much Twitter can rely on advertising revenue.
Since Mr. Musk finished his buyout of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) for $44 billion last week, he has already reshuffled the company’s top echelons, which has led to widespread controversy. He let go of several of Twitter’s most senior executives and is now collaborating on reimagining the company with a group of advisers, investors, and employees from his other businesses. In addition, he removed the board of directors and appointed himself as the only director of the corporation.
Since the beginning of this year, Mr. Musk has been vocal about his desire for Twitter to shift its major income model away from advertising and toward paid subscriptions. Companies in the social media industry, such as the parent company of Facebook (Meta Platforms Inc.) and the parent company of Snapchat (Snap Inc.), have had difficulty capitalizing on the subscription model.
Mr. Musk has not yet provided any details regarding how or if he plans to carry out that transition. In regards to the announcement of improvements to the platform, he has been mysterious up to this point. He has frequently given signals in the form of brief tweets. On Tuesday, representatives for Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comments given to them.
On Tuesday, he suggested the price decrease to $8 per month in response to comments made by novelist Stephen King, who stated that he did not want to pay the required $20 per month to have his Twitter account verified. Mr. King said, “If that gets adopted, I’m gone like Enron,” referring to the energy company that went bankrupt 20 years ago. “If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
Because anybody may create a Twitter account and publish tweets, the social media business identifies select accounts as verified if it deems the user’s tweets are in the public interest. Anyone can create a Twitter account and publish tweets. Verified profiles on Twitter, which include those managed by celebrities, politicians, journalists, and others, are marked with a blue badge.
This week, Mr. Musk announced that the business is in the process of updating its verification procedure.
On Tuesday, Mr. Musk blogged about the subscription model, saying, “I will explain the rationale in the fuller form before this is deployed.”
He continued, “It is the only way to combat the bots and trolls.”
Mr. Musk has stated that eradicating bogus accounts on Twitter would be one of his top goals. Still, he has not elaborated on how a subscription model could accomplish this goal.
Over the past few years, Twitter (TWTR stock) has already begun offering subscription services to increase revenue. Suppose users want access to premium capabilities like editing their tweets, for example. In that case, one of the services, Twitter Blue, will charge them $4.99 monthly. Mr. Musk has proposed that the membership be upgraded so that consumers can get rid of all advertisements.
According to a report published on Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal, the social media business has plans to increase the monthly cost of the Twitter Blue subscription to $19.99. According to another story from The Journal, Twitter is eliminating the opportunity for its Blue subscribers to view ad-free versions of content published by hundreds of different publishers. These publishers include Vox and the Los Angeles Times.
The previous year, Twitter extended an invitation to select content creators to test a subscription service known as Super Follows. This service allows a person’s followers to pay as much as $10 per month to see additional tweets from that person. The people who make the content get a cut of the monthly subscription charge.
What will happen to Twitter’s shares now that Elon Musk’s purchase of the social media network has been finalized?
A Securities and Exchange Commission document states that the deal to turn Twitter private was concluded late on Thursday. On the New York Stock Exchange, where Twitter has been traded since 2013, trading in its stock had already ceased by Friday morning.
These agents will receive the $54.20 owed for each share, according to Quinn. That was the price Musk agreed to pay for the business, and in September, Twitter shareholders overwhelmingly approved it.
Quinn explained that most Twitter stockholders now have to do is wait to get paid. The payoff should occur soon as well.
Featured Image – Unsplash © rswebsols
Author Valerie Remorosa 
