Twitter plans to start charging nearly $20 a month for users to keep their blue badges as part of a premium service to be offered under Elon Musk’s leadership, according to a report.
“The whole verification process is being revamped now,” Musk, who took over as CEO of the social media platform on Friday. posted on Twitter Sunday.
The big price hike is said to be one of the improvements, The Verge reported.
The company plans to increase its $4.99 per month premium subscription called Twitter Blue to $19.99 per month. However, that price could change, the newspaper reported, citing internal correspondence and people familiar with the matter.
Twitter will add more features, including verification, to bring its subscription on par with the cost increase.
The billionaire plans to make verified users pay money to keep their status.
Existing verified users have 90 days to subscribe to the new Twitter Blue after it launches or they will lose their verification tokens, according to The Verge.
The current Twitter Blue launched about a year ago and offers subscribers a way to view ad-free articles from several publishers, as well as additional personalization settings.
Musk has been outspoken about his desire to grow subscription numbers to account for half of Twitter’s revenue, as well as his desire to overhaul the platform’s vetting process in the months before the company’s $44 billion takeover on Thursday.
Employees working on Twitter Blue improvements were informed Sunday that they must meet a Nov. 7 deadline or face being fired, according to media reports.
Since buying Twitter, Musk has moved quickly to make staff cuts. Starting at the top, he ousted chief executive officer Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Sega, the company’s top legal and political officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett.
