Twitter is reportedly planning to charge its users $20 per month if they want to become or stay verified on the social media platform. 

Elon Musk now officially owns Twitter. The deal became official last week and one of the first major reforms the Tesla CEO is planning to implement is to bring paid verification on Twitter, as per a report from The Verge and Platformer.

Platformer’s Casey Newton reports that Twitter executives are “strongly considering” asking verified users to pay $5 monthly for the Twitter Blue subscription or lose their badge. According to Newton, Twitter’s higher execs have spent the weekend brainstorming the idea and making plans about the measure. 

Elon to Twitter Employees: Implement Paid Verification by Nov. 7 “or pack up and leave.”

On the other hand, The Verge reports that Elon has asked his employees to implement paid verification on Twitter by November 7, 2022, “or pack up and leave.” While Twitter Blue costs $5 per month, verified users will have to pay $20 per month to retain their blue tick. Users would be given 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue tick.

In a tweet on Sunday, Musk said that Twitter’s verification process is currently being revamped but gave no further details. At present, Twitter’s verification process is free, and the users applying for it must be “notable, authentic, and active.” 

It is unclear what would happen to the users in regions where Twitter Blue isn’t available. Currently, Twitter’s paid service is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to retaining the blue badge, Twitter Blue service bundles the ability to “Edit” tweets, set NFT as the profile picture, and more.  

A lot of verified users have expressed pessimism about Elon’s rumored idea. Whether or not the company acts on the idea remains to be seen. 

Source(s): The Verge, Platformer