Musk mocks AOC, others angry over price for Twitter blue check
Elon Musk plans to charge users $8 a month to keep their blue check status on Twitter
Elon Musk on Wednesday shot back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., after she ridiculed his plan to charge $8 a month for Twitter users to receive a verified blue check mark.
"Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Tuesday, after Musk announced the overhaul.
Musk responded to her tweet, telling her, "Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8."
Earlier in the day, Musk declared Twitter's "lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark" to be "bulls--t."
Ending his tweet with, "Power to the people! Blue for $8/month."
Later Wednesday, he drew attention to a nearly $60 sweatshirt from Ocasio-Cortez’s website.
Musk, who took over Twitter last week after closing a $44 billion deal, has been assailed by users on all sides over his plan to charge $8 a month to be verified. Despite the criticism, he says the plan will remain.
"To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8," he said Tuesday. Musk has noted that basic Twitter will remain free to use, but accounts that pay to receive the blue check would get other benefits.
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In a follow-up tweet, he poked fun at critics who thought $8 a month was too steep a hill to climb. The tweet appeared to target people who were willing to splurge on an overpriced Frappuccino but couldn’t handle paying $8 a month to be verified.
Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion in April, but it wasn't until last Thursday evening that he finally closed the deal, after his attempts to back out of it led to a protracted legal fight with the company.
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Musk's lawyers are now asking the Delaware Chancery Court to throw the case out, according to a court filing made public Monday. The two sides were supposed to go to trial this month if they didn't close the deal by the end of last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.