Musk announces $8 monthly charge for verified Twitter accounts

SAN FRANCISCO: New Twitter head Elon Musk said on Tuesday the site will charge $8 per month to verify users’ accounts.

“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” the billionaire entrepreneur tweeted in reference to the platform’s famous blue checkmark, saying the new plan would upend the “current lords & peasants system” and create a new revenue stream for the site.

Twitter’s advertising chief, Sarah Personette, tweeted on Tuesday that she had resigned her post last week, adding further uncertainty for advertisers wondering how the social media company will change under Elon Musk.

Personette, who was chief customer officer, follows other executives out the door, including former Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, whom Musk fired last week. Personette did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Her departure comes as Musk’s team is set to meet with advertisers this week in New York.

“So many great ideas on how to increase joy on the platform!” tweeted Jason Calacanis, an angel investor and podcast host, on Monday, saying that Twitter was having “a very productive day” meeting with marketers and advertisers.