Here's How Many Months Elon Musk Could Pay For Every Twitter Peasant To Have A Blue Checkmark

Zinger Key Points
  • Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and has ended its legacy blue checkmark verification system.
  • Musk is paying personally for three Twitter users to have Twitter Blue.

Legacy blue checkmarks on Twitter have officially ended, and now every user — including businesses, athletes and celebrities — — needs to pay a monthly subscription for verification and added features. With news that Twitter CEO Elon Musk is personally paying for several Twitter Blue subscriptions, here’s a look at how long he could afford to pay for every Twitter user.

What Happened: Since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, Elon Musk has made several notable changes to the social media platform, including an increased focus on monetization.

Last year, Twitter announced its Twitter Blue subscription service, which provides blue checkmarks and other features to users.

Musk also announced that accounts with legacy blue checkmarks would lose their checkmarks and have to pay as part of the new service.

“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk tweeted on Nov. 1, 2022.

The decision to charge celebrities, athletes and businesses angered many, including author Stephen King, who was disgusted by the original $20 per month price tag that Musk had laid out.

On Friday, Twitter officially ended the legacy blue checkmark system, much to the dismay of many celebrities and athletes who found their verification status taken away.

King, along with LeBron James and William Shatner, however, retained their blue checkmarks. It was later revealed that Musk himself was paying for their subscriptions. Paying for the three to have Twitter Blue for the year will only cost Musk, who is one of the richest people in the world, less than $500.

While this won’t break Musk's bank, it begs the question of how long the Twitter CEO could pay for every Twitter user to have Twitter Blue.

Related Link: Alyssa Milano - Even Elmo - React To Elon Musk's Twitter Changes: 'We Are Officially Blue Check Mark Free'

Twitter Blue For All: In its last reported quarter, Twitter had 229 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2022. 

Musk is currently listed with a wealth of $165 billion, making him the second-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

Twitter Blue also comes with different price levels that depend on which country a user is in and what operating system they use the Twitter app on. For the purpose of this exercise, a cost of $8 per month is used.

Based on all of this information, the cost for 229 million monthly users to have Twitter Blue for a month is $1.832 billion.

This means that Elon Musk could pay for every Twitter user to have a Twitter Blue subscription for 90 months, or a total of seven years and six months.

Read Next: Jesus, God And Satan Have Blue Checkmarks But The Pope Loses His, The State Of Elon Musk's Twitter 

Photo:  via flickr

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Posted In: NewsSocial MediaGeneralBloomberg Billionaires IndexElon MuskLeBron JamesSocial Media Platformsstephen kingtwitterWilliam Shatner
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