Musk Says Twitter Will Charge $8 Monthly For Blue Check Mark

Twitter's new CEO, Elon Musk, revealed Tuesday that the "verified" Blue service will cost $8 per month. Musk wants to boost subscriptions and minimize Facebook's advertising.

Twitter's blue check mark system is ridiculous. People power! Musk tweeted, "Blue for $8 per month, country proportionally to purchasing power parity."

Twitter verifies accounts with a blue check mark. Twitter is free for most users.

Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last week.

He quickly removed the CEO and other top executives after taking over the company.

On Tuesday, Twitter's head of advertising, Sarah Personette, announced her resignation last week, adding to advertiser concern.

Musk revealed on Tuesday that blue-checked members will receive preference in answers, mentions, and searches and can post longer videos and audios. 50% fewer ads.

He also offered "publishers keen to engage with us" paywall bypass.

Musk's comments follow media reports that he was scrutinizing the profile verification process and how blue check marks were issued. Twitter gave these badges to famous profiles.

A recent survey found that over 80% of Twitter users would not pay for the verification badge. 10% would pay $5 monthly.

Twitter Blue, released last June, offers capabilities including message editing.

"If that gets adopted, I'll be gone like Enron," tweeted best-selling author Stephen King in reaction to Twitter's rumored $20 monthly blue tick fee.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Ratings lowered Twitter to B- owing to "substantial" debt growth from the purchase.