Elon Musk, Twitter's new CEO, announced on Tuesday that the social media network will charge $8 for its Blue service, which includes the coveted 'verified' badge, in an effort to monetize the service and reduce its reliance on advertisements.

Musk claimed that blue-tick users would see half as many adverts and would be given preference in search, answers, and mentions. Additionally, they would be allowed to publish longer audio and video files. Subscribers could also access a paywall bypass from 'publishers keen to engage with us.'

Following media allegations that the Tesla CEO was investigating the profile verification procedure and how the blue ticks were distributed, Musk made the following remarks. Based on its own standards, Twitter used to award blue ticks to noteworthy profiles.

However, in a recent survey, more than 80% of Twitter users who participated stated they would not pay for the blue tick, with 10% saying they would be prepared to pay $5 per month.

Following a protracted battle that involved the billionaire pulling out of the transaction and a legal confrontation, he finally completed his $44 billion purchase of the business last week.

Twitter Blue, a membership programme that offers users access to features including the ability to edit tweets, was introduced in June of last year. 

In response to rumours that Twitter may soon start charging verified users a $20 monthly fee for blue ticks, best-selling author Stephen King penned, 'If that gets adopted, I'm gone like Enron.' Separately, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Twitter's credit rating to B- as a result of the acquisition-related 'significant' debt increase.