Key Insights
- Elon Musk has tweeted that users will now pay $8 per month for the blue tick subscription.
- India’s NPCI has pitched the UPI Autopay to Elon Musk.
- The UPI Autopay is India’s answer to Elon’s Twitter subscription, as it can process all payments at any interval.
Twitter eventually got a new private owner Elon Musk. In April 2022, he signified interest in acquiring the social media platform for $43 billion. This total buyout came after spending $2.64 billion to acquire 9.1% of Twitter’s shares.
Since 25 April, when the Twitter board accepted Musk’s offer, a series of legal tussles started. On 27 October, the agreement was finalized, and ownership was conferred on Elon Musk.
One announcement that has generated controversy since then is the monthly Twitter subscription charge. Musk said Twitter’s “blue tick” will now be available for everyone once they pay $8.
It is on this premise that the Indian authority has given a response to the Twitter subscription.
Indian Answer to Twitter’s Subscription Fee
Shortly after Musk announced the $8 monthly Twitter blue tick subscription charge, the Indian authority responded.
Dilip Asbe, the CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has pitched a payment feature for the subscription. He said Twitter users could use the UPI Autopay feature for recurring subscriptions.
In what seems to be a marketing strategy, the CEO of NPCI said the payment platform has 7 million users. He said this India-based UPI Autopay could process payments at every interval. It can manage monthly, quarterly, or yearly recurring payments.
In a tweet directly commenting on Elon’s tweet, he pitched the payment platform to Elon. He said, “ No worries, India has UPI Autopay…to collect anytime/month/quarter or yearly as you wish, dear Twitter.”
No worries, India has UPI AutoPay (7 Mn new approved collection mandates/month) to collect every anytime/month/quarter or yearly as you wish dear @Twitter
— Dilip Asbe 🇮🇳 (@dilipasbe) November 2, 2022
Elon Musk and some industry players have, however, made some clarifications to the monthly charge. He said he had to drop the charge from $20 to $8 and could not go lower. He said the $8 is for US Twitter users as other countries’ charges may be adjusted.
Conclusion
Elon Musk doesn’t shy away from being profit-oriented, seeking every avenue to maximize his wealth. This is evident in the decision to introduce payment for Blue tick— which used to be a verification badge that comes free of charge.
While some online users felt the $8 price is still high, some suggest the total subscription suspension. Elon insists that he can’t lower the charges and that the revenue generated will be for spam handling.
On the other hand, India’s UPI Autopay seems to be an excellent payment platform. It remains to see whether Musk will use a third-party payment platform in the league of UPI Autopay.
