New Twitter boss Elon Musk is mocking his disgruntled critics, changing his title to “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator” — and joking about charging users for every complaint.
The 51-year-old Tesla mogul came up with the witty new handle while he continued responding to a flurry of outrage at his free-speech policies as well as plans to charge for blue verification checks.
He also changed his location from “Twitter HQ” to “Hell” as a series of top execs also fled his company.
“To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8,” he quipped in a tweet late Tuesday.
That $8 is the same price Musk has said he will charge users to get a blue tick on his site, a verification system he insists will help cut down on bots, the key issue that almost ended his $44 billion offer for the site.
Musk also admitted that he “totally stole idea of charging for insults & arguments from Monty Python tbh.”
He included a clip from the classic comedy show in which a customer pays to have an argument — just to argue over whether it really is, in fact, an argument and not just endless contradiction.
As well as jokes, Musk also expanded on his plans for the site, insisting he will listen to the left-wing voices that have been so horrified by his plans for free speech.
“Twitter’s content moderation council will include representatives with widely divergent views, which will certainly include the civil rights community and groups who face hate-fueled violence,” he wrote.
His policies also mean that those high-profile names previously banned — most notably then-President Donald Trump — will still have a wait before they are allowed to tweet again.
“Twitter will not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks,” he stressed.
As well as outrage from many sensitive users, Musk has seen an expanding exodus of Twitter’s top management, including its advertising and marketing chiefs, after he’d fired others.
Sarah Personette, who was chief customer officer and ad boss, tweeted on Tuesday that she resigned last week, adding to advertisers’ uncertainty over how the social media company will change under Musk.
Chief People and Diversity Officer Dalana Brand also announced that she had resigned last week.
General manager for core technologies Nick Caldwell confirmed his departure on Twitter, changing his profile bio to “former Twitter exec” by Monday night.
Chief marketing officer Leslie Berland, Twitter’s head of product Jay Sullivan, and its vice president of global sales, Jean-Philippe Maheu, have also left, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It was not immediately clear whether they quit or were asked to leave.
With Post wires