"How about $8?" - Elon Musk responds as Stephen King calls out Twitter for charging $20 per month to 'keep blue check'

On October 31, 2022, American author Stephen King took to Twitter to call out Elon Musk for allegedly charging $20 per month to keep the verification badge on the platform.

After King said Twitter "should pay" him for being on the platform, the Tesla CEO responded by stating that Twitter needs to pay bills "somehow." He added that the corporation cannot rely on advertisers.

Musk then proposed a new monthly payment plan of $8 instead of $20. His response read:

"We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?"

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Fans react to Stephen King and Elon Musk's interaction over Twitter allegedly charging $20 for account verification

According to reports, Twitter is planning to monetize the verification system by introducing a subscription service that would allow users to obtain the coveted "blue tick" for a monthly fee of $20.

Horror and supernatural novelist Stephen King shared his thoughts on the service and criticized Twitter. He expressed his displeasure and suggested that the social media platform should "pay him." His tweet read:

"$20 a month to keep my blue check? F**k that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron."

Stephen King called out Twitter for monetizing the verification badge on October 31, 2022 (Image via Twitter)

Elon Musk responded to Stephen King on November 1, 2022, by claiming that Twitter cannot rely solely on advertisers. He added that he would explain the rationale in greater detail before implementing the subscription service.

Musk claimed that this was the "only way to defeat bots and trolls":

Elon Musk's response went viral as more than 6,000 community members provided their take on the situation.

Safe Security co-founder Rahul Tyagi suggested that the corporation "charges individuals based on their profiles" and heavily bills the influential personalities:

Jane Manchun Wong concurred with the $8 monthly fee, saying it seemed "more reasonable for a premium application experience for a power user":

L.A. Guns guitarist Ace Von Johnson reminisced about the time he received the verification badge. He was also fine with the $8 price tag, noting that the initial cost seemed high for something that had previously been free:

Economist Hasan Alkas suggested that $8 should be a "one-off fee":

Here are some more relevant reactions from the conversation thread:

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Elon Musk began Twitter's acquisition earlier this year, and both parties finally closed the deal on October 27, 2022.

After Musk became the new owner of the social media platform, he took to his Twitter account and claimed that the "bird is freed."