Elon Musk, Twitter Inc.’s largest shareholder, proposed several of the changes to the company’s premium subscription service Twitter Blue on Saturday, including lowering the price, eliminating advertising, and allowing users to pay with the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
Elon Musk, Twitter Inc.’s largest shareholder, proposed a number of changes to the company’s premium subscription service Twitter Blue on Saturday, including lowering the price, eliminating advertising, and allowing users to pay in Dogecoin.
Musk, who disclosed a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter recently, was offered a seat on the company’s board of directors, raising concerns among some Twitter employees about the company’s ability to moderate content.
According to Twitter, Twitter Blue, which launched in June 2021, is the company’s first subscription service, providing “exclusive access to premium features” on a monthly basis. It is sold in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Tesla Inc’s CEO suggested in a tweet that users signing up for Twitter Blue should pay significantly less than the current $2.99 per month and should receive an authentication checkmark in addition to the option to pay in local currency.
Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (i.e. pays $3/month) should receive an authentication checkmark.
“Price should probably be $2/month,” Musk wrote in a tweet, “but I paid 12 months in advance and my account is suspended without refund if used for scam/spam for 60 days (watch for credit card chargebacks).”
“And there will be no advertisements,” Musk continued. “If Twitter is reliant on advertising revenue to stay afloat, corporations will wield significantly more influence over policy.”
Musk also suggested accepting Dogecoin as payment and solicited feedback from Twitter users.
Twitter remained silent in response to Musk’s suggestions.
Through the company, users can already tip their favorite content creators in Bitcoin. Twitter announced last year that it would support NFTs, which are digital assets such as images or videos stored on a blockchain.
Musk also launched a poll on his 81 million-follower Twitter account, inquiring whether the company’s San Francisco headquarters should be converted into a homeless shelter due to “no one showing up (to work).” Over 300,000 people voted in less than an hour, with more than 90% voting yes.
