Tech

Successful startup founder tells Elon Musk he'd pay $100 to get old Twitter back

tbh founder Nikita Bier
tbh founder Nikita Bier Steve Jennings/Getty Images
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Nikita Bier, cofounder of social-media startups Gas and tbh, isn't a fan of Elon Musk's Twitter product changes.

Bier tweeted at Musk on Tuesday, saying: "Monetization idea: I would pay $100 to revert all product changes back what it was before you acquired Twitter."

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. Bier did not immediately respond to a request for further comment ahead of publication.

This isn't the first time Bier, whose startups have been acquired by Discord and Facebook, has tweeted at Musk about Twitter. He tweeted in April and October for Musk to hire him to lead product at the company.

"I think the role would be exciting — but Gas is fully occupying my time right now," Bier told Insider via Twitter DM in October.

Gas is an anonymous social-media app aimed at teenagers, in which users vote in hourly polls after syncing the app with their location. It ranked as the No. 1 social-media app on the App Store after launching last year.

Musk has made drastic changes to Twitter since buying the company in October for $44 billion that have ruffled some feathers. 

For instance, in an effort to find new revenue streams, Musk relaunched Twitter's subscription platform, Twitter Blue, including offering users to pay a monthly fee to get a blue check mark — previously exclusive to verified accounts of public figures to prove they were real.

More recently, he made changes to Twitter's newsfeed, including the "For You" feed that shows recommended tweets, though he's since announced changes to that after some users complained.

Since taking over, Musk has also ousted several top execs, including former head of product, Jay Sullivan.

Musk reportedly emailed Twitter staff earlier this month saying: "We are going to agonize until we achieve as close to the perfect product as possible."

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Travis Clark was a senior reporter covering the entertainment and tech industries on the Tech News team.Travis covered the companies, properties, and trends transforming and disrupting Hollywood, and how they interesect with the tech world.He's also a comic-book movie expert, and is interested in the evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Warner Bros.' shifting strategy for its DC superhero movies, for starters.Below is some of the work he's most proud of:Disney is shutting down the animation studio behind the 'Ice Age' movies. Some staffers say they're shocked at the lack of communication and feel betrayed that its final movie won't be released.Hulu insiders say a scrapped international expansion and changing culture have made them question what the streamer's future looks like under DisneyMarvel insiders say they're skeptical of its recent pledge to improve diversity in its comics and company, after employing only 2 Black editorial staffers in the last 5 yearsInsiders say major questions hang over DC Universe as its parent company prepares to launch Netflix rival HBO Max