At the same time, Twitter plans to add new features to the service. As a subscriber, you’ll see fewer ads and have the ability to post longer videos and audio — which Twitter had tested before the Musk acquisition. It will also give you priority on Twitter replies, reports and searchability, perks that Musk claims are necessary to reduce the amount of spam on the platform. “The current Twitter lords and peasants system of who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,” Musk said, but confirmation will be tied to Twitter Blue subscriptions. Finally, Twitter Blue will include the ability to bypass paywalls — though that will come later and depend on Twitter building the necessary publisher partnerships.
Tuesday’s announcement comes after days of speculation about how Twitter might change under Musk’s ownership. On Sunday, two separate reports said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is considering raising the price of Twitter Blue by up to $20 a month and making subscription a requirement for verification. Musk appeared to reconsider the pricing after a tweet by author Stephen King criticizing the plan went viral. “We have to pay the bills somehow,” Musk said. “Twitter can’t rely solely on advertisers. How about $8?”
Musk claimed the changes to Twitter Blue would also give the company a way to support content creators. On Monday, the owner of Nibellion, one of Twitter’s most prolific and popular gaming news accounts, said he was leaving the platform, citing Musk’s acquisition of the company and the difficulty he’s had in monetizing his work.
“I’ve miscalculated the value of my Twitter activity and realize that nothing is worth advocating on its own for the vast majority of people,” Nibel said. “It’s not me who’s popular, but it’s this job that’s useful. Not valuable in itself, but a convenient time-saver, and I understand that now.’ Accounts like Nibel are the lifeblood of Twitter. While they only represent about 25 percent of the user base, they account for more than 97 percent of the tweets you see on the platform.
The tweaks to Twitter Blue are likely just the beginning of the changes Musk has planned for Twitter. According to the New York Times, Musk has ordered company-wide layoffs that could affect up to 50 percent of Twitter’s 7,500-person workforce. It’s also reportedly considering bringing back Vine, the company’s long-defunct short-form video service. Meanwhile, Musk didn’t say when the Twitter Blue changes would start rolling out.
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