The last few days since Elon Musk completed the takeover of Twitter have been an interesting one for the social media company as the Tesla CEO continues his total revamp of the app. Elon Musk’s moves have stirred so much controversy with many sternly criticizing the recent developments coming to the app and likening his savage style of leadership to that of former US President, Donald Trump. Others are objectively praising the new Twitter boss for taking desperate steps to bring new solutions to the platform.
These are some changes Elon Musk has announced over the last few days:
- Blue Checkmark Now Available on the new Update of Twitter for iOS
On Saturday, several Twitter users with an iOS device observed that the latest update of the app now allows any user to get or keep their verification symbol for a fee of $8. This is in line with Elon Musk’s last week announcement that the service and symbol which authenticates the identity of a person or business on the platform would be available for any Twitter user as against a select few (public figures and entities). The rollout of this feature primarily achieves two purposes; create another revenue stream for Twitter and fulfil Elon’s dream of restoring power to the people.
- Twitter to permanently ban impersonators
On Sunday, Elon Musk announced that in the future, Twitter will begin to permanently ban accounts engaging in impersonation without clearly identifying as a ‘parody’. This is to achieve Elon Musk’s ambition of making the platform one of the most trustworthy sources of information.
- Musk Sacks 3,700 Employees
One of the biggest shockers of Elon Musk’s reign so far has been the sack of almost half of Twitter’s entire staff strength. Justifying the exercise on Friday, Musk said the company was losing $4 million per day due to its large workforce. He added that the relieved employees received three months of severance packages, which is 50% higher than legally required.