Elon Musk Says All Users Will Have To Pay Subscription Fees To Use X, Formerly Known As Twitter
It’s unclear how much the monthly payment might cost, nor when the company could implement the system.
Elon Musk indicated that all users of X, formerly known as Twitter, might soon have to fork over a “small monthly payment” to access the platform. He claimed that charging for access is the only way to combat bots. His statement came during a livestreamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It’s unclear how much that “small monthly payment” might cost, nor when the company could implement the system.
Netanyahu also asked Musk about dealing with bots that amplify hate speech on the platform, to which the billionaire responded, “The single-most important reason that we're moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is it's the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.”
Currently, X has a premium subscription service that provides users with additional features. That service starts at around $8 per month, though the price can vary based on the user’s country.
During the livestream, Musk also claimed that X has 550 million monthly users. In May 2022, prior to Musk purchasing the company, the platform had an “average monetizable daily active usage” of 229 million, according to CNBC. This being said, Musk did not disclose how many of these 550 million “users” might actually be part of the armies of bots he mentioned.