Since he finalized a deal to purchase Twitter last week, Elon Musk has lost $8 billion, meaning that 2022 has been a very mean year to the world’s richest man, whose net worth has plummeted $66 billion in 2022, according to figures from the Bloomberg Wealth Index.
And now comes news that Musk may be planning to start charging some users for the right to post on his newly-acquired social media site, a move that could sent Twitter stock plummeting on the stock market, The Verge reported:
Now that he owns Twitter, Elon Musk has given employees their first ultimatum: Meet his deadline to introduce paid verification on Twitter or pack up and leave.
The directive is to change Twitter Blue, the company’s optional, $4.99 a month subscription that unlocks additional features, into a more expensive subscription that also verifies users, according to people familiar with the matter and internal correspondence seen by The Verge. Twitter is currently planning to charge $19.99 for the new Twitter Blue subscription. Under the current plan, verified users would have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue checkmark. Employees working on the project were told on Sunday that they need to meet a deadline of November 7th to launch the feature or they will be fired.
Musk has been clear in the months leading up to his acquisition that he wanted to revamp how Twitter verifies accounts and handles bots. On Sunday, he tweeted: “The whole verification process is being revamped right now.”
Oddly, Musk claims that he didn’t buy Twitter in order to make money, but to “try to help humanity,” though he remains unclear how long he can help anyone or anything if he continues to hemorrhage operating capital, which is the lifeblood of any corporation.
Of course, there’s no need to feel sorry for Musk, who remains valued at $212 billion. But if Twitter’s stock price tanks, he might just wish he’d never heard of the site.
Featured Image: NBC News
