After railing against the potential future subscription needed to get or keep the little blue verified badge, Stephen King was inspired to compare Elon Musk to a famous fictional character.
Do you know what Elon Musk, Stephen King, Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer have in common right now? Twitter, of course! The desire of the new boss of the social network to charge verified users (or those who want to be) never ceases to react. Elon Musk and Stephen King are not really on the same wavelength on this question, even though the second city admits to being a Tesla enthusiast.
Elon Musk and Stephen King, disagree on the principle of subscription in exchange for the verification badge
The popcorn is ready? Let’s go. It all started earlier this week, when Stephen King spoke of his surprise at the monthly subscription initially proposed at $20 that Elon Musk would like to impose on holders and aspirants of the little blue verification badge. Twitter.
” $20 a month to keep my blue badge? Shit, they should be paying me “, had carried away the master of horror, even threatening to leave the social network if this proposal were to become effective.
” We gotta pay the bills, somehow “, then replied Elon Musk, adding that Twitter cannot rely solely on advertisers (who account for 90% of the social network’s income). ” How about $8? “, Proposed the new boss of the social network, customary of the fact in terms of improbable reversals.
Tom Musk or Elon Sawyer?
Since then, Elon Musk has explained the contours of his idea: a paid subscription at 8 dollars/euros each month to keep or obtain his little blue badge, see half as many advertisements on his feed, upload videos and audio files more long and highlight the account in replies and mentions. Waiting for more benefits to come.
However, Stephen King was not done. On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the best-selling author followed by nearly 7 million people on Twitter first wanted to congratulate Elon Musk on his entrepreneurial journey. who started a revolution in the way the world drives and who has incredible visionary skills “, before acknowledging that he had had a first Tesla car, then another, evoking “ wonderful cars “.
” But that said, when it comes to Twitter…Musk reminds me of Tom Swayer, being given the job of whitewashing a fence as punishment “, he engaged in another tweet. And the author of That and of The green Line pushes the comparison quite far with the mischievous hero of Mark Twain. ” Tom convinces his friends to do the chores for him and make them pay for the privilege. That’s what Musk wants to do with Twitter. No no no “.
The analogy is astonishing and translates well the point of view of Stephen King, shared moreover by a part of the observers: everything or almost is a game for Elon Musk. Perhaps he also wanted to tease the billionaire on this other common point that he could have with the darling child of several generations: the symbol of freedom, which the founder of SpaceX claims so often. But if Tom Sawyer, it’s America; Elon Musk is Twitter now.
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