From week to week, Elon Musk has shifted expectations for his Twitter Blue paid verification subscription service. After a hasty, exclusive rollout and almost immediate retraction from the Apple App Store, the service’s relaunch has been delayed, partly to give Musk time to figure out a way to avoid Apple App Store fees. Now, it seems Musk has found a solution that could mean Twitter Blue will be back soon, but its comeback could come at a greater cost to some Twitter users.
According to The Information, Musk has told some staff that he plans to offer Twitter Blue for $8 for purchase on the web, but the price will be hiked to $11 per month for anyone who purchases the subscription in the App Store.
Neither Twitter nor Apple could be immediately reached to confirm The Information’s reporting.
The higher price will likely help offset Apple’s 30 percent fees during the first year the service is offered in the App Store, ensuring that Musk still gets paid roughly $8 a head for anyone interested in forking over a monthly payment for a blue checkmark.
TechCrunch crunched the numbers and reported that Musk could offset the fees by charging $10.38, but he seems to have rounded up to charge an even amount for the service.
Musk’s decision to increase Twitter Blue’s cost to App Store users comes after Apple this week announced sweeping changes to its App Store pricing, making it easier for developers to set the price they want for downloads. Some game and app developers plan to take advantage of more flexible pricing options to adjust prices according to fluctuating foreign exchange rates and inflation. For maximum flexibility, Apple made it so that developers “can adjust pricing at any time.” Perhaps this also will give Musk the flexibility to adjust Twitter Blue’s price if his higher price in the App Store results in fewer subscriptions.
