Musk says Twitter to launch 'Verified' service next week with a 'gold check' for companies

Elon Musk said in a tweet Friday that Twitter would launch its delayed "Verified" service next week with different colored checks depending on the type of account.

The Twitter CEO said there would be a "gold check" for companies, a grey colored one for government accounts and the existing blue one for individuals, whether they are celebrities or not.

All verified accounts will be "manually authenticated" before the check is activated, Musk said.

The billionaire called the move "Painful, but necessary"

Musk's comments come after he was forced to pause the $8 per month Twitter Blue service, which allowed anyone to pay the subscription for the blue verification tick, after users abused the system by impersonating brands and famous people.

The CEO said Monday that Twitter would delay the relaunch of its $8 per month Blue Verified service. At the time, Musk said Twitter will "probably use [a] different color check for organizations than individuals."

Now he has given details on what that could look like.

Musk had earlier said he planned to relaunch Twitter Blue on Nov. 29. Musk's latest timeline puts the relaunch on Dec. 2.

The subscription service is Musk's attempt to find a new revenue stream at Twitter as part of the billionaire's controversial shakeup at the social media firm.

Musk has fired thousands of employees at Twitter and asked the remaining workers to commit to working "long hours at high intensity" or leave.