Legacy Twitter Blue ticks to be removed by April 20: Elon Musk

‘Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20’, Musk tweeted.

Last month, Twitter said it would winding down the legacy verification programme and accounts that were verified under the previous criteria will not retain a blue checkmark unless they are subscribed to Twitter Blue, starting April 1.

The service launched in India on February 8, available for a monthly fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices. This works out to Rs. 7,800 per year on the web and Rs. 10,800 per year on mobile devices. Twitter users though, can avail a discount of 12% and get the service for Rs 9,400 per year.

On February 10, ET had reported that Twitter users in India largely gave a thumbs down to Twitter Blue, saying the prices were steep by Indian standards. Users had said the blue checkmark had little value-add beyond ‘bragging rights’. However, public figures and organizations stand to benefit from the premium offering, they had said.

Musk launched his bid to acquire Twitter almost a year ago on April 14, 2022, and finally ended up closing the deal on October 27 last year.

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Musk’s chosen date to remove legacy Blue ticks, ‘4/20’ is not the first time the Twitter CEO has shown his affinity towards the number ‘420’, a slang term used in cannabis culture for marijuana consumption. According to a WSJ report, the Tesla CEO’s offer price for Twitter of $54.20 could also be a veiled reference to the same.

Musk also got into trouble with the SEC in 2018 when he joked about taking Tesla private at $420 per share.

“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Musk wrote in a tweet.