Elon Musk Hints at Subscription Paywall for X, Says It Is ‘Only Way’ to Tackle ‘Army of Bots’
Musk says the paywall would be a “small amount of money.”
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Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk said introducing a small monthly fee to use X is the most effective way to tackle the app’s bot problem.
- Since Musk acquired X in October 2022, the platform has faced a series of changes and ongoing financial challenges.
Would you pay to use X (formerly Twitter)? The concept has been talked about for years, but now it appears to be one step closer to reality.
X owner Elon Musk hinted at possibly implementing a subscription paywall for all users during a with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. During the talk, Musk mentioned that the company was considering a monthly fee, which he says would be “a small amount of money” for using X, and argued that such a change was necessary to address the issue of bots plaguing the platform.
“The single most important reason that we are moving to [have] is a small monthly payment for the use of the X system, is it is the only way I could think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Musk said.
Related: Elon Musk Took a $1 Billion Loan From SpaceX Before $44 Billion Acquisition of Twitter
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, argued that despite bots being inexpensive to operate (costing a “fraction of a penny” or “tenth of a penny”), if they were required to pay a small fee, the overall cost would be significantly higher, making the accounts less viable.
“We are actually going to come up with a lower-tier pricing. We want it to be just a small amount of money,” Musk said, adding that the possibility is a “longer discussion” but the “only” way to tackle the issue.
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— Benjamin Netanyahu – ×‘× ×™×ž×™×Ÿ × ×ª× ×™×”×• (@netanyahu)
Musk did not provide further details about the plan nor specify when such a change might take effect.
Since acquiring the platform in October 2022, X has faced a series of changes and challenges both financially and critically. In May, investment group Fidelity assessed X’s value to be , which is approximately one-third of the $44 billion Elon Musk had invested in the platform when he acquired it. During the same month, internal documents obtained by revealed that X’s advertising revenue had declined by 59% compared to the previous year.
In July, Musk and acknowledged the financial challenges, citing a significant drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt burden. In August, he shared another ominous post, admitting that the platform “may fail” amid its onslaught of hurdles.
Related: Elon Musk Accused of Deliberately Slowing Down Links to News Outlets and Competitors on X
In his discussion with Netanyahu, the topic of hate speech was brought up, wherein Musk stated that he is “against antisemitism” and “anything that promotes hate and conflict.
In mid-August, Media Matters for America released a report that found over a dozen brands’ ads were placed alongside a verified pro-Nazi account. As a result, two of these brands promptly halted their advertising expenditure on the platform.
Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk said introducing a small monthly fee to use X is the most effective way to tackle the app’s bot problem.
- Since Musk acquired X in October 2022, the platform has faced a series of changes and ongoing financial challenges.
Would you pay to use X (formerly Twitter)? The concept has been talked about for years, but now it appears to be one step closer to reality.
X owner Elon Musk hinted at possibly implementing a subscription paywall for all users during a with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. During the talk, Musk mentioned that the company was considering a monthly fee, which he says would be “a small amount of money” for using X, and argued that such a change was necessary to address the issue of bots plaguing the platform.
“The single most important reason that we are moving to [have] is a small monthly payment for the use of the X system, is it is the only way I could think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Musk said.
