Shortly after Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, reports suggested that verified Twitter users will have to pay a fee to keep their blue tick, which authenticates the identity of the account holder.
Since then, the Internet is abuzz with speculations. Bestselling author Stephen King also expressed his disappointment over the anticipated fee and prompted Elon Musk to respond.
“$20 a month to keep my blue check? F*** that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron," the author tweeted.
$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
Replying to him, the Tesla CEO went on to negotiate with the author and wrote, “We need to pay the bills somehow. Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
The exchange between the two soon went viral and sparked a meme fest on Twitter.
Some users compared it to the way customers indulge in bargaining with street vendors.
मामला पूरा पालिका बाजार स्टाइल में हैंडल किया जा रहा है. pic.twitter.com/jNqYrDFLUe
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) November 1, 2022
Referring to the budget-friendly flea market in Delhi's Sarojini Nagar, another joked, “Bhaiya Sarojini mein $2 mein mil jaata hai...dhang se lagao. [Bro, we get it for $2 in Sarojini Nagar market. Please look at the price.]”
Bhaia Sarojini mein $2 mein mil jaata hai...dhang se lagao. https://t.co/fqiVCrHlbn
— Kabir Taneja (@KabirTaneja) November 1, 2022
“Waiting for ‘chal na tera na mera' ‘itne par final karte hain'[Hey, let us reach a middle ground],” a reaction read.
Waiting for "chal na tera na mera" "itne par final karte hain" ????????
— Ms.Positivity???????? (@No__negativtyxd) November 1, 2022
One user quipped, “Great to see negotiations happening on Twitter itself.. transparency.”
Great to see negotiations happening on twitter itself.. transparency.. ????
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) November 1, 2022
“5 dollars and you have a deal,” a few offered.
5 dollars and you have a deal????
— Mu (@TheTallWeeb) November 1, 2022
One churned out a meme with a reference to the iconic 2000 comedy film Hera Pheri.
???? $8 dollars for blue tick ???? pic.twitter.com/VQdDcj8PtT
— Peaceful (@liberalwoke_) November 1, 2022
Mr Musk, who is now the "Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator", earlier announced that the verification process for Twitter accounts was being revamped. However, he did not provide any further details.
In his subsequent tweet, Elon Musk wrote that he will explain the rationale behind charging for the verification badge saying that it is the “only way to defeat the bots & trolls”.
I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented. It is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
According to reports, users would have to shell out $4.99 a month to retain their badges.
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