Bestselling author Stephen King is doubling down on his criticism of billionaire Elon Musk’s charging celebrity Twitter users for account verification.
Musk, who purchased the social media network last month, announced he would be charging a monthly fee of $20, which he has since reduced to $8, for the blue checkmark showing a celebrity's account is verrified. The move prompted King on Monday to tweet that he would quit the platform rather than pay the fee.
On Wednesday, the Maine horror writer continued tweeting about Musk, praising his technical innovations but criticizing his management of Twitter.
“Kudos to Elon Musk, who has begun a revolution in how the world drives and who has incredible visionary talents,” King wrote. “I got an early Tesla and traded for another one. Wonderful cars (no autopilot for me, thanks). That said, when it comes to Twitter...”
He followed up with: “Musk makes me think of Tom Sawyer, who is given the job of whitewashing a fence as punishment. Tom cons his friends into doing the chore for him, and getting them to pay for the privilege. That's what Musk wants to do with Twitter. No, no, no.”
Musk did not appear to respond to King via the social network, but on his own feed Musk continued to defend the fee, posting a cartoon image suggesting the fee was the same price as an iced coffee drink from Starbucks and, being a monthly fee, would last longer than the drink.
“To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8,” he wrote.