Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Elon Musk
Since Elon Musk reluctantly dropped $44 billion on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, he has been giving a masterclass on how to ruin something already good. A new report details how one of his ideas, Twitter Blue, was a disaster from the start.
A New York Times report revealed that employees at X, formerly Twitter, tried to warn Musk about the dangers of his dumb idea, Twitter Blue, which allowed users to purchase verified blue checkmarks along with other features was a “dangerous” idea during a meeting at the company’s San Francisco office on November 9, 2022.
According to the report, Musk dismissed the employee’s concerns, telling them to be “adventurous” while eating the snacks in the office. Twitter Blue would go on to be the disaster his employees tried to warn them about as fake accounts with blue checkmarks began popping up instantaneously, spewing out false information and eroding trust among users.
Per The NYT:
“We’re going to be shooting from the hip in real time,” Mr. Musk said, fashioning his hands into a pair of finger guns.
Previously, Blue had been a small part of the company’s business, which relied on advertising for 90 percent of its revenue. Blue allowed a few thousand die-hard users to pay for premium features, like the ability to edit their tweets and customize the Twitter app on their phones, but it never gained much traction. To Mr. Musk, a Twitter obsessive who had purchased the company for $44 billion, the service represented an untapped financial opportunity.
Mr. Musk’s attempt to rescue a company he saw as a sinking ship was premised on the idea that he could persuade people — millions of them — to pay for Twitter Blue. That scheme, however, was doomed from the start by the haphazard planning and capriciousness of Twitter’s owner, whose nearly two-year stewardship of the company has cratered its finances and sullied his reputation as a generational entrepreneur.
Musk eventually shuttered Twitter Blue following its launch before relaunching it again, but the damage was already done, with the platform’s most famous users vowing not to pay for the service.
Phony Stark would also change the company’s name from Twitter to X, a very bonehead decision, and advertisers have shunned the platform.
The Tesla Chief has also begun pushing our right-wing conspiracies, restored Donald Trump’s account, and has endorsed the Orange Menace for president.
We really need Threads or some other app to give us a reason to kick X to the curb.