Elon Musk reveals when Twitter users will lose legacy blue tick - what is a blue tick & what the changes mean

Elon Musk took over Twitter after a $44billion deal in October last year and has introduced a number of changes to the platform ever since. One key change has been introducing a subscription for verification, or a ‘blue tick’, at the price of $8 per month.

In an interview with the BBC, Musk has now confirmed that Twitter’s ‘legacy’ blue ticks, notable accounts who do not pay the subscription fee, will “all be gone by next week”. Mr Musk had previously said the company was going to remove blue ticks from the accounts of legacy verified users from April 1 but the changes have not yet taken place.

Asked whether he had any regrets about buying Twitter, Musk said the "pain level has been extremely high, this hasn’t been some kind of party". The Twitter CEO also revealed he often sleeps at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. He said: “There’s a library that nobody goes to, up on the seventh floor. There’s a couch there, and I sleep there sometimes.”

Elon Musk has an estimated personal fortune of almost $190bn, making him the world’s second richest person, according to the Forbes billionaires list.

What do the blue tick changes mean?

The changes to Twitter verification mean only accounts that pay the Twitter Blue subscription fee will have the verification blue tick. Musk has been criticised for the changes in verification, with a number of celebrities and publications stating they will refuse to pay the subscription fee.