Elon Musk halts $8.00 service for Twitter blue tick just one day after announcing launch
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Twitter's blue tick subscription service has allegedly been postponed by Elon Musk just days after it was first rolled out.
Soon after acquiring the social networking company, Musk wasted no time in bringing in a kitchen sink but also revealing he would be launching a paid version of Twitter Blue - offering 'exclusive access to premium features' - at a monthly cost of $7.99.
On Saturday, 5 November, Musk said the verification scheme would become available nationwide, the blue tick subscription went live on the iOS app and made promises which included 'half the ads and much better ones'.
Alas, just a few days after the announcement and users will now reportedly have to wait longer to receive their blue tick, with Musk having allegedly pushed back the rollout of the verification check marks.
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In a statement announcing the subscription service, Twitter said: "Starting today, we're adding great new features to Twitter Blue, and have more on the way soon. Get Twitter Blue for $7.99/month if you sign up now.
"Blue checkmark: Power to the people. Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow,
"Coming soon… Half the ads & much better ones.
"Since you’re supporting Twitter in the battle against the bots, we’re going to reward you with half the ads and make them twice as relevant."
However, ahead of the launch Twitter is reported as having been questioned by an employee over 'making such a risky change before elections, which has the potential of causing election interference'.
According to 'two internal sources' and a post on an internal Slack channel reviewed by the New York Times, one of the company's managers allegedly made an announcement that Twitter would be pushing the launch back by four days.
On Sunday, the manager is said to have released the statement: "We’ve made the decision to move the launch of this release to 9 November, after the election."
The backtrack on the Twitter Blue rollout isn't the only decision Musk is reported as having reversed on.
Soon after Musk walked into Twitter HQ armed with a sink, the Tesla CEO decided to slash almost half of the social networking company's workforce, citing a 'massive drop in revenue'.
Despite the cuts being confirmed by Twitter's head of safety and integrity, Yoel Roth, the company is now allegedly re-hiring some of the employees that were let go because they were laid off 'by mistake'.
UNILAD has contacted Twitter for comment.
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