Twitter has been acquired by Elon Musk, and since the deal was completed, we have been hearing a lot related to the social media platform. So far, it seems that every announcement coming from the company distances more and more users.
In the latest development, Elon Musk has announced that the Twitter Blue subscription service will now cost $8 per month, a jump of around 60 percent or $3 compared to its current price of $5 per month. He also said that the pricing would be adjusted to the purchasing power parity of other countries.
With the price increase, there’s also a plan to increase the offerings of the subscription. It is said that users will see fewer advertisements and will get the ability to post longer videos and audio, which the company had already tested before selling the platform.
Those who purchase the subscription will also get priority in replies, mentions, and searches, which Elon Musk says are essential to reduce spam on the platform. However, the biggest change comes in the way the verification checkmark work.
Making the announcement through a tweet, Musk said that the profile verification will be tied to a Twitter Blue subscription and will be only available to those who have purchased the subscription. It is also being said that the current verified will also need to purchase the subscription to keep the verified blue checkmark.
Earlier, there were different reports making rounds indicating that the subscription price could be increased to as much as $20 per month. When well-known writer Stephen King criticized the move, and the tweet went viral, Musk suggested a lower pricing of $8 per month, which now seems to have been finalized.
As per the reports, Elon Musk has ordered company-wide layoffs, which could affect as much as 50 percent of the company’s workforce, which is currently about 7,500 persons. While the timeline for the layoffs isn’t known yet but given the speed at which things are working, we expect some news in the coming days.
