Stephen King: Elon Musk Is Like Tom Sawyer

One of the more unexpected results of Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter is the exchange unfolding between him and Stephen King over the platform's proposed changes. It began when King publicly balked at rumors of a $20 monthly fee for verified users, and Musk responded by dropping that figure to $8. Now King has responded, and while he doesn't explicitly reject the idea, it sure doesn't sound like he'll be paying to remain on the platform, notes Mashable.

"Musk makes me think of Tom Sawyer, who is given the job of whitewashing a fence as punishment," King tweeted. "Tom cons his friends into doing the chore for him, and getting them to pay for the privilege. That's what Musk wants to do with Twitter. No, no, no." King's main beef, as he explained in the first go-round, is that Twitter should be paying him and other high-profile tweeters, rather than the other way around. Musk had not responded to the dig as of Thursday afternoon.

King wasn't all negative, though. Before the crack about Tom Sawyer, he praised Musk for his "incredible visionary talents" and for starting a "revolution in how the world drives" with his electric Teslas. Meanwhile, NDTV notes that Musk has changed his Twitter bio to read "Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator." A lot has happened in the few days Musk has been in control, and Fast Company has a roundup, including other proposed Twitter changes and an early exodus of some celebrities. (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also drew a response from Musk over her complaints about the proposed monthly fee.)