Musk announced the new deadline on his Twitter account. Anyone who still wants a blue check mark on Twitter after April 20 must take out a paid subscription of about 10 euros per month.
The date refers back to when Musk first wanted to buy Twitter. On April 14 last year, he offered a share price that included the numbers 420, after which he signed the documents for his offer on April 20. In the United States, that date is written out as 4/20.
The number 420 is a reference to American cannabis culture. Musk often refers to this: in 2018 he tweeted that he was considering taking car company Tesla off the market at a price of $ 420 per share. He later called that a joke, which got him into trouble with market watchdogs.
Checkmarks
Blue check marks were used on Twitter for years to distinguish legitimate accounts. If a celebrity has such a check mark, Twitter has checked with that person whether this is really his or her account.
Musk hopes to generate revenue by now offering those check marks for a fee. Critics fear that this will mainly cause problems. After all, if everyone can buy a tick, it will also be easier to imitate someone and appear legitimate.
BBC
The Twitter CEO was also interviewed by the BBC last night. This British broadcaster criticized the social network, which marked their account as ‘funded by the government’. According to the BBC, the broadcaster is independent.
Musk promises to change this marking to ‘funded by the public’.
For years, Twitter depended mainly on advertising revenue, but that revenue plummeted when Musk took over at the end of last year. In the interview, Musk said that revenue has recently picked up again as advertisers returned. The numbers would again be ‘roughly in the black’. The company employs 1,500 people, much lower than the 8,000 people it employed before the acquisition.
