Does Elon Musk seek to revive Twitter for the greater good?
Elon Musk has come up with a slew of suggestions for Twitter Blue, the social media giant’s subscription service. These include a price cut, the option to pay in dogecoin and banning ads.
Elon Musk and Twitter Blue
The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX — who now owns 9.2% of Twitter — is a prolific Twitter user, often moving markets with his tweets. Musk was appointed to Twitter’s board of directors on Tuesday and said he looks forward to working with the board to make “significant improvements to Twitter in the coming months.”
Launched in June 2021, Twitter Blue is the social media giant’s first subscription service for those willing to pay for exclusive access to special features — such as an “Undo Tweet” feature, customized Twitter app icons and the ability to add bookmarks. In a series of tweets on Saturday, Musk suggested there should be no ads and that the subscription price be cut.
Good news for the social media giant
“Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (ie pays $3/month) should get an authentication checkmark. Price should probably be ~$2/month, but paid 12 months up front & account doesn’t get checkmark for 60 days (watch for CC chargebacks) & suspended with no refund if used for scam/spam,” Musk said.
He further said that there would be no ads. Moreover, the power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive. Musk also proposed that the pricing should be proportionate to affordability & in local currency. He suggested an option to pay in Doge.
The Twitter Blue service is available in only the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The undo feature lets subscribers change their tweet before it goes live. It is not an edit feature, which Twitter users have often requested. “It’s not an edit button, but a chance to preview and revise your Tweet before it’s posted for the world to see,” the company has said.