After facing criticism for his plan to charge Twitter users USD 8 a month to get or keep a verified account, Tesla CEO Elon Musk comes up with a cryptic tweet that one gets what one pays for.
Elon Musk, who has faced backlash for charging users to display a blue tick on their Twitter profile, came off as stubborn on Thursday when he posted in defence of his choice. Many Twitter users have turned down the offer to pay $8 per month to maintain a blue tick on their profile.
Musk stated that one gets what they pay for in a post late on Thursday. There was no extra context for the spoiler notice tweet. He wrote, "You get what you pay for."
you get what you pay for
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
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Twitter is the most intriguing place on the Internet, the creator of Tesla, who also owns Twitter, stated in a tweet. That's why you are reading the tweet right now," he added.
Twitter is simply the most interesting place on the Internet. That’s why you’re reading this tweet right now.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)Despite the criticism, Musk reaffirmed on Wednesday morning that users of the blue tick will be required to pay for it. "To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost USD 8," he tweeted.
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Totally stole idea of charging for insults & arguments from Monty Python tbh https://t.co/oFKRyp3BS7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)Musk subsequently said, "Totally copied the idea of charging for insults & arguments from Monty Python honestly."
After months of back and forth, Musk finalised the Twitter transaction. He had broken his commitment to purchase Twitter, claiming that the company's top executives were not transparent about the amount of bot accounts. Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk, alleging he was suffering from "buyer's remorse." As soon as the sale was sealed, Musk fired the company's senior executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, with whom he had a public spat.
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In addition, he dismissed the whole board of directors and took over as its only member. He announced a price for the verified accounts as one of his first actions. He first proposed a $16 charge but eventually lowered it to $8 per month.