Twitter's new CEO, Elon Musk, has announced he is bizarrely planning to charge for a blue tick - which could see the price be the same as a monthly Netflix subscription.
Since first offering to buy Twitter, the world's wealthiest man has made it clear that he is planning to shake things up at the social media giant.
Less than a week after completing his $44 billion (£38 billion) acquisition of the site, the Tesla CEO has said that he will be charging a fee for the coveted blue check marks.
Following this, Musk issued an out an ultimatum to his engineers over the new project on Sunday.
On track to be deployed next week is a subscription feature, and a team of engineers have been hauled in to roll out the $20 (£17) per month fee - or they will be fired.
Engineers have until November 7 to launch the scheme.
Shockingly, employees at the social media site were only informed of the project on October 30.
According to a new report from The Verge, the price of the current verification is subject to change. The price will also cover so-far unspecified other features.
In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US, Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription that gives the most engaged people on Twitter exclusive access to premium features .
Twitter launched Blue in late last year in the US for $3 (£2.60) per month, but boosted the price in July to $5 (£4.30).
It offers subscribers features like top articles, custom icons and, most recently, the ability to edit tweets.
Hours before The Verge report emerged, Musk tweeted: "The whole verification process is being revamped right now."
Following this, many Twitter users took to slam the decision, with one person writing: "Honestly, I feel like it should be the other way around. If you want to remain anonymous do you have to pay five dollars. Those bought accounts would be less plentiful if they had to pay."
And another wrote: "I don't know how many blue checkmarks will pay to keep their verified status."
While a third said: "I think that is kind of steep for the average person. Maybe for corporate or celebrity ones makes sense."
Others have praised the idea, with one person saying: "If it includes video and music streaming, sports and one-day delivery, I’m in." And another put: "That's good. Blue ticks use their accounts to engage and advertise for free."
Once the Twitter's new policy kicks in, users will reportedly have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue tick.
However, it currently remains unclear what will happen to verified users in countries where Twitter Blue is unavailable - so in any country that isn't the US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
There are around 400,000 verified users on Twitter, and making them pay could cost the mogul.
But on the other hand, making them pay could help the platform stay afloat after reports that bots make up five percent of all users, and 'heavy tweeters' make up less than 10 percent of the site's monthly users.
For Twitter, less active users mean less eyeballs for advertisers.
And during the court battle to acquire Twitter, Musk himself claimed that fewer than 16 million users are able to see the vast majority of ads.
The Mirror have contacted Twitter for a comment.
