ELON Musk wants Twitter to offer a price cut, provide the option to pay in dogecoin and ban ads for users that subscribe for premium features on the social media service.
The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX who now owns 9.2 per cent of Twitter is a prolific user of the social media platform and often influences financial markets with his tweets.
Launched in June last year, Twitter Blue is the social media giant’s first subscription service for those willing to pay for exclusive access to its special features.
“Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (i.e pays $3/month) should get an authentication checkmark,” he tweeted.
“And no ads. The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive,” he added.
Twitter Blue has an “Undo Tweet” feature, customized Twitter app icons and the ability to add bookmarks. It also lets subscribers change their tweet before it goes live.
However, 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.
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency branded after a viral dog meme from years ago.
It now has a market capitalization of about $92 billion following a six-month climb of more than 26,000 per cent.
Twitter’s monthly subscription service offers premium features such as some ad-free articles and the ability to retract a tweet before it’s visible to others and is available to users in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1512946176244473863?s=20&t=UqXH69BlR5z0612h-BCJ-g
Since Musk bought a 9.2 per cent stake and won a board seat on Twitter, he has already weighed in on the lack of an edit button as well as how few celebrities like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift post on Twitter.
Musk is set to join Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal at a company meeting next week to address employee questions.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1512966135423066116?s=20&t=125hHuzWJqCciPfBkCZhsQ
He also held a poll on whether Twitter should convert its headquarters into a homeless shelter, taking aim at its return-to-office policy that allows employees the option of working remotely “forever.”
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.