To say Twitter is currently in a state of flux is an understatement — billionaire Elon Musk has unleashed pure chaos on the microblogging site since he took over a week earlier with a sink in hand.

Musk, who designated himself 'Chief Twit' when he first took over last Thursday, is now the platform's 'Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator'. But, tongue-in-cheek bio aside, Musk appears to be managing via Twitterstorm — over the past few days, through a series of tweets.

Musk has managed to send the internet into a tizzy — from rumours of a 75 percent layoff to bringing banned public figures such as Donald Trump back, nothing seems to be off the table. And predictably, this has set off reactions — from disbelief to anger to derision: you name it, Twitter's seen it.

Sample these tweets by the Chief Twit-turned-Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator:

Twitter speaks to the inner masochist in all of us

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2022

However, the most controversial tweet by Musk is the announcement that the platform will now start charging users $8 a month to keep their verified status. According to Musk, Twitter's coveted blue tick — a way for public figures to verify their identities — will now be up for sale.

In Musk's own words, this is a bid to boost the platform's non-ad revenue.

Predictably, the move attracted some backlash, but Musk remained resolute, saying the $8/month fee is here to say — interestingly, the Tesla CEO had first floated the idea of charging $20 a month for blue tick privileges but slashed it to $8 after some public figures, such as celebrated author Stephen King, tore into the idea.

To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2022

Neil Gaiman, fantasy author par excellence, signalled he would rather lose his verified status and let Twitter go the way of Myspace — a now-defunct precursor to Facebook — than pay for it.

Gaiman does not seem to be alone. An ongoing Twitter poll by a verified user, @[email protected], a self-described Chief Meme Officer at the microblogging site, has garnered nearly 2 million votes, 81 percent of which picked the "Would not pay" option.

Musk has since clarified that certain failsafes will be in place to avoid users from buying blue ticks and impersonating public figures, but the debate continues.

I'm in the same boat. I will miss the badge next to my name, but c'est la vie.

What does this mean for India?

At the moment, it is not clear whether Indian-verified users will have to start paying. CNBC-TV18.com has sent Twitter India a query in this regard, and a response is awaited. India accounts for less than 6 percent of Twitter's global userbase, and there is no readily available data on the number of verified accounts in India.

However, considering that Twitter is currently a free service in India — Twitter Blue has not launched here yet — and also given that the country is a very price-sensitive market, it remains to be seen how well this move will go down.

Currently, a direct conversion of the $8/month fee amounts to over Rs 660 — nearly the price of a Netflix subscription. And everyone knows Netflix is bleeding from password sharing despite the platform offering cheaper subscription plans in India.

Also, the country has an Indian microblogging website, Koo, which many in the current government have taken to and prefer Indians to shift to. And the platform offers voluntary self-verification for authenticity.

The implications

There are already signs that Musk's takeover of Twitter has not gone down well with some netizens — as per The Guardian, Mastodon — a six-year-old, decentralised social media platform that is a haven for "left-leaning niche communities" — has added 70,000 users on the day Musk took over.

This may be a drop in the bucket, or a pebble on the mountain, for sure. But all it takes is for a loose pebble to gather enough momentum going downhill for it to turn into a rock slide.

But, as the ghost towns that are Orkut, Myspace, et al., or the rapidly diminishing returns of Facebook attest, nothing stays at the top forever. Even Twitter is fast becoming less of a "town square" and more a space that is up for grabs for those willing to pay for a louder voice.

I know I won't. Will you?

(This story will be updated once Twitter India sends its response)