Elon Musk Channels 'Monty Python' Over Twitter Blue Check 'Complainers'

Elon Musk hasn't got any sympathy for Twitter users worried about the incoming fee for the blue check marks, calling them "complainers."

The billionaire also pulled on a classic Monty Python sketch to give an analogy of the current situation on the social media site which he now owns.

After completing his takeover of Twitter, Musk has been banding around ideas of changes to make which have included new fees and bringing back Vine. Musk had openly considered charging $20 for users to keep a blue check mark on their accounts, before settling on and announcing an $8 system. The new plan sparked backlash, complaints and criticism amongst users online.

Despite all of the naysayers, Musk doubled down on his decision.

"To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8," he wrote on Tuesday evening. His firm stance was positively received by many, with his tweet receiving over 700,000 likes and retweets.

He then followed this up by sharing a classic Monty Python sketch, comparing Twitter to a big argument.

"Totally stole idea of charging for insults & arguments from Monty Python tbh," he wrote. He included a link to a three-minute video featuring John Cleese, in which a man turns up to an office and pays to have an argument with a professional.

Aside from ensuring his followers know his stance, Musk's Twitter activity included responding to questions relating to the oncoming changes to the social media site, including how suspended accounts can return to the platform.

After reiterating the $8 monthly charge for verification, many blue check mark users tried to converse with Musk.

"Okay you gotta spill the beans... Why $8? Not 7, not 9, not 10?" asked the cofounder of news app Morning Brew. "It feels so amazingly arbitrary but gotta assume it's not."

"So if anyone with $8 can get verified, how are you going to distinguish those that need it for security and authenticity from those that need it for vanity?" Journalist Hopewell Chin'ono asked Musk. "I thought verification was done because of what someone does not because they can afford it. No more authenticity right?"

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, pointed out: "We wouldn't need the blue check, if Twitter makes clear who is a bot or imposter. Verified means verified not status. I don't want bots or parody accounts to create any more confusion or disinfo than they already do."

The argument about the number of bots on Twitter was the sticking point which initially caused Musk to attempt to pull out of buying the social media company. Some pieces of software, like Christopher Bouzy's Bot Sentinel, attempt to identify the number of bots influencing hate speech on Twitter.