Elon Musk announces future changes to Twitter verification

'Blue Verified' will launch later this month before the removal of verified Twitter accounts

Elon Musk arrives at the Baron Investment Conference at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, on November 4. AP

Mr Musk in Manhattan, New York City, on November 4. Reuters

Mr Musk appears online at the B20 Summit as part of the G20 dialogue in Nusa Dua, Bali, on November 14. AFP

After months of negotiations, Mr Musk finally bought Twitter on October 27. AFP

The billionaire took control of microblogging platform and fired its top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal, left, as well as the company's chief financial officer and its head of legal policy, trust and safety. AFP

Mr Musk entering Twitter headquarters carrying a sink through the lobby area on October 26. AP

Mr Musk and his children Damian, Kai, Saxon and Griffin met Pope Francis in July at the Vatican. AFP

Mr Musk speaks by video in June to the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Bloomberg

Mr Musk answers questions at the Qatar Economic Forum. Bloomberg

Mr Musk arrives at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in May. Reuters

Mr Musk and his mother Maye Musk arrive at the Met Gala in May. AFP

Mother and son pose and laugh on the Met Gala red carpet. EPA

Mr Musk waves at the Met Gala. Reuters

Mr Musk joins in online at the 'Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit in May. Financial Times

Mr Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, in March. Reuters

Mr Musk at the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany, in March. AP

Mr Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase centre in South Texas in February. AFP

The entrepreneur shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Porto Feliz, Brazil, in May. AP

Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Musk greet each other in Sao Paulo. Reuters

Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets Mr Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, in May. Reuters

Mr Musk shows Mr Widodo his mobile phone during a tour of the SpaceX launch site in Texas. Reuters

Twitter's new chief executive Elon Musk on Tuesday tweeted that a new version of Twitter Blue will launch by the end of the month after turmoil over recent changes he made to the subscription plan.

“Punting relaunch of Blue Verified to November 29 to make sure that it is rock solid,” he tweeted.

Less than a week ago, Mr Musk allowed people to sign up for a new $7.99 monthly version of Twitter Blue that gave their account a “blue checkmark” like the ones seen on verified accounts of public figures.

Twitter Blue was suspended after a chaotic wave of fake accounts with the new blue ticks parodied US presidents, well-known dead people, and large companies like Eli Lilly. Some accounts even mocked Mr Musk and his companies.

Now, the chief executive says “Blue Verified” will launch on November 29.

He did not share details of what kind of features will be part of the subscription plan or how much it would cost.

Mr Musk also replied to a tweet saying: “All unpaid legacy Blue checkmarks will be removed in a few months”.

Public figures like celebrities, elected officials and journalists have been verified with blue ticks on their profiles for years. The tick helped prevent impersonation and abuse.

It is not clear if Mr Musk's latest move will impact companies and organisations.

Some organisational Twitter accounts had “Official” labels in addition to their blue ticks but it appeared that label had been removed on some pages on Tuesday.

___________________________

Elon Musk memorabilia auctioned by ex-girlfriend for $165,000