Business mogul Elon Musk has taken issue with a tweet by US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticizing his plan to monetize verified profiles on Twitter. As with all Elon news this week, this has resulted in the new Twitter CEO doubling down on the platform for all to see.
The congresswomen ridiculed Musk for what she described as an attempt to monetize freedom of speech. She tweeted, “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that “free speech” is actually a $8/mo subscription plan”.
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet received over 450,000 likes and it wasn’t long before Musk entered the chat with a patronizing response telling her, “Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8”.
Many users were amused by the billionaire’s jab at the congresswoman and his tweet was liked by over 250,000 users. Musk took a moment to ponder Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism of his verification subscription plan for Twitter. An hour after he clapped back at her comment, he tweeted for a second time on the topic. The multi-billionaire posted a screen capture from the webshop at the congresswoman’s official website of a branded sweatshirt on sale for $58 with a thinking face emoji. Musk seemed to be implying that Ocasio-Cortez is a hypocrite.
So far the post has received over 90,000 likes. The politician has yet to respond to Musk’s tweet.
As a businessman, it’s Musk’s instinct to exploit all available opportunities. Nevertheless, there is a difference between selling campaign merchandise that people can voluntarily purchase (or not) and unilaterally springing a monthly subscription plan on users for a service that had previously been free. The original intention of the Twitter verification check was to demonstrate the trustworthiness of notable Twitter profiles. The subscription plan risks making verification about who can afford it and who can’t.
Whichever side of the debate you are on, the discussion offers a compelling glimpse into our post-pandemic reality.
