Turkey's president says he wants to discuss Twitter's $8 blue tick fee with Elon Musk to see if he can avoid paying it, a report says

• Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may talk to Elon Musk about Twitter's verification fee, per ATV.
• Erdogan told ATV he could "carry out some diplomacy" with Musk, too.

The president of Turkey said on Wednesday that he might speak to Elon Musk to negotiate a way to opt out of paying for a proposed $8-a-month Twitter verification fee.

Reuters reported the news, citing an interview with Turkish broadcaster ATV.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told ATV he was considering talking to Musk about the monthly $8 subscription, which would give users a blue checkmark, the ability to post long-form video, priority in search, and fewer ads, per Reuters.

The charge for Twitter verification "might be different for us," Erdogan told ATV, Reuters reported. "We could carry out some diplomacy with him as well."

Erdogan, who appears to post regularly on Twitter, is verified on the social-media platform. This means Twitter has confirmed Erdogan's account belongs to him.

Other politicians, celebrities, journalists, and high-profile figures have also been verified on the site, but some may lose their blue tick if they refuse to pay the $8 fee when it's implemented.

The blue tick is currently free of charge, but Twitter plans to start charging for blue verification badges as early as next week, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Musk has received backlash for the proposed $8 charge from celebrities and government officials including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Nevertheless, the billionaire hasn't backed down.

Musk tweeted on Tuesday: "To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8." He also told AOC: "Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8."

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO on Wednesday tweeted a meme showing a person smiling at an $8 price tag on a Starbucks coffee, but crying when seeing the same price tag on a Twitter verification badge.

Since closing the $44 billion Twitter deal last week, Musk has fired various senior executives and the CEO, announced future changes to the platform, and planned to lay off around 50% of the company's workforce.