Elon Musk to relaunch Twitter's Blue Tick subscription service on Nov. 29
New York (PTI): Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has said that Twitter's coveted USD 8 blue tick subscription service will be relaunched with verification on November 29, days after the microblogging platform temporarily halted it following a surfeit of fake accounts.
Before Musk took control of Twitter on October 27, the blue tick was given to celebrities, government heads and other celebrities after their accounts were verified by the site's platform.
The USD 8 subscription fee announced on November 6 was a measure to retain advertisers and generate revenues.
The move, however, led to a surge in imposter accounts, forcing Twitter to temporarily halt the service.
"Punting relaunch of Blue Verified to November 29th to make sure that it is rock solid," Musk said in a tweet on Tuesday.
With the new release, changing someone's verified name will cause the loss of the blue check "until the name is confirmed by Twitter to meet terms of service", Musk said.
Last week, Musk indicated that he would relaunch the blue tick subscription service.
It marks a chaotic three weeks for Musk ever since he clinched the USD 44 billion deal to acquire Twitter.
Since his takeover, Musk has fired nearly half of the popular microblogging platform's workforce, including its CEO Parag Agrawal and even raised the spectre of the company going bankrupt.
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Chose different path but did not break relationship: Uddhav Thackeray on Ajit Pawar
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday condoled Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash, and said even though the NCP chief chose a different path in politics, he did not let their relationship suffer.
In a post on X, the former chief minister said in Pawar's death, he has lost a steadfast leader and an excellent former cabinet colleague.
As finance minister, Pawar was an extremely disciplined leader with a firm grip on his department, he said.
Ajit Pawar had served as deputy CM in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government from 2019 to 2022.
"We developed a special bond as colleagues. Ajit Pawar was open-hearted. He would speak his mind. He was not someone who held a grudge for long. Even though he chose a different path in politics, he did not let our relationship break," Uddhav Thackeray said.
Pawar broke away from the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress in 2023 and joined the BJP-led NDA, a move which split the Nationalist Congress Party.
He was known as a leader who valued his party workers, and he was truly a 'Dada' (elder brother), Thackeray said, as he offered tributes to Ajit Pawar on behalf of the Thackeray family and Shiv Sena (UBT).
His son and former minister Aaditya Thackeray described Pawar's death as shocking. "Words fail me," he said, adding that he had the opportunity to work with Ajit Pawar for five-six years, first in the government and then in the opposition.
"His commanding grip on legislative affairs and his affectionate nature won over many like me. Even when I was in the opposition, I had publicly said this many times," Aaditya said.
एक खंबीर नेता व माझ्या मंत्रिमंडळातील मी उमदा सहकारी गमावला!
— Office of Uddhav Thackeray (@OfficeofUT) January 28, 2026
मी मुख्यमंत्री असताना अजित पवार हे उपमुख्यमंत्री, अर्थमंत्री होते. अत्यंत शिस्तप्रिय, आपल्या खात्यावर वचक व अर्थ विभागाचा अभ्यास असणारे ते नेते होते. एक उत्तम सहकारी म्हणून त्यांचे माझे विशेष नाते जमले. अजित पवार हे…
