"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 &quot;should pay&quot; him for being on the platform, the Tesla CEO responded by stating that Twitter needs to pay bills &quot;somehow.&quot; 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:&quot;We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?&quot;Elon Musk@elonmusk@StephenKing We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?295242006@StephenKing We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?Fans react to Stephen King and Elon Musk's interaction over Twitter allegedly charging $20 for account verificationAccording to reports, Twitter is planning to monetize the verification system by introducing a subscription service that would allow users to obtain the coveted &quot;blue tick&quot; 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 &quot;pay him.&quot; His tweet read:&quot;$20 a month to keep my blue check? F**k that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron.&quot;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 &quot;only way to defeat bots and trolls&quot;:Elon Musk@elonmusk@StephenKing I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented. It is the only way to defeat the bots &amp; trolls.9456633@StephenKing I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented. It is the only way to defeat the bots &amp; 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 &quot;charges individuals based on their profiles&quot; and heavily bills the influential personalities:Rahul Tyagi@rahultyagihacks@elonmusk @StephenKing Better to charge individuals based on their profiles. Bill heavily to politicians, celebrities, sports icons, and charge less to others,Take an exp of a student who did an invention in small town India &amp;got bluetick,even he is popular that does not mean he has paying capacity61@elonmusk @StephenKing Better to charge individuals based on their profiles. Bill heavily to politicians, celebrities, sports icons, and charge less to others,Take an exp of a student who did an invention in small town India &amp;got bluetick,even he is popular that does not mean he has paying capacityJane Manchun Wong concurred with the $8 monthly fee, saying it seemed &quot;more reasonable for a premium application experience for a power user&quot;:Jane Manchun Wong@wongmjane@elonmusk @StephenKing I’m okay with $7.99/month, sounds more reasonable for a premium app experience for a power userDo a tiered pricing too, some like $4.99/month for a subset of features523@elonmusk @StephenKing I’m okay with $7.99/month, sounds more reasonable for a premium app experience for a power userDo a tiered pricing too, some like $4.99/month for a subset of featuresL.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: Ace Von Johnson@acevonjohnson@elonmusk @StephenKing I was honored to receive verification some years ago. $8 is fine, though $20 seems steep for something thats been free since inception. Removing verification from those who actually require/earned it, while offering to monetize it for those who don’t, seems to defeat the purpose.5@elonmusk @StephenKing I was honored to receive verification some years ago. $8 is fine, though $20 seems steep for something thats been free since inception. Removing verification from those who actually require/earned it, while offering to monetize it for those who don’t, seems to defeat the purpose.Economist Hasan Alkas suggested that $8 should be a &quot;one-off fee&quot;:Hasan Alkas@ProfAlkas@elonmusk @StephenKing 8$ as a one-off fee would be a good idea Rest must be financed by advertising21@elonmusk @StephenKing 8$ as a one-off fee would be a good idea 👍 Rest must be financed by advertisingHere are some more relevant reactions from the conversation thread:Wahab@A_Alzaidan@elonmusk @StephenKing 8 monthly, annually 85, 220 forn3 years. Might be worth it!@elonmusk @StephenKing 8 monthly, annually 85, 220 forn3 years. Might be worth it!Alex MacCaw@maccaw@elonmusk @StephenKing Charge companies lots for corporate accounts.5@elonmusk @StephenKing Charge companies lots for corporate accounts.CryptoMellany❤️@CryptoMellany@elonmusk @StephenKing There should only be a ONE TIME administration cost to verify someone's identity.Even if this was 500$, it makes a ton more sense than paying every month to keep it.1@elonmusk @StephenKing There should only be a ONE TIME administration cost to verify someone's identity.Even if this was 500$, it makes a ton more sense than paying every month to keep it.Kevin@TheKevinDent@elonmusk @StephenKing Wait…. You’re gonna charge me for a service that I didn’t ask for? Have you ever considered supplying Windows support as a viable option?1@elonmusk @StephenKing Wait…. You’re gonna charge me for a service that I didn’t ask for? Have you ever considered supplying Windows support as a viable option?Yanky@Yanky_Pollak@elonmusk @StephenKing I'll wait for the details and decide if it's for me I assume there will be different tiers6@elonmusk @StephenKing I'll wait for the details and decide if it's for me I assume there will be different tiersElon 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 &quot;bird is freed.&quot;

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