Elon Musk says social media platform X could go behind a paywall
Elon Musk has hinted that all users of X, formerly called Twitter, may have to pay to access the social media platform in future.
During a live-streamed conversation with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Mr Musk suggested a paywall was the only way to tackle bots.
“We’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system,” Mr Musk, who bought Twitter in October, said.
“A bot costs a fraction of a penny” to make Mr Musk said. “But if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost to bots is very high”.
The billionaire has not disclose further details of how the payment system would work, but he has previously said his plan to counter bots and fake accounts on the platform would be charging for verification.
Users can already pay for access to additional features on the platform under an X Premium subscription.
Subscribers receive a blue checkmark on their account, the ability to share longer posts and edit posts.
The price of an X Premium subscription differs based on country. It currently costs $8 (£6.50) a month for users in the US and £11 for users in the UK.
Mr Musk suggested that users would not be charged a high price to access X.
“We’re actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing. So we just want it to be just a small amount of money,” he said.
“This is a longer discussion, but in my view, this is actually the only defence against vast armies of bots,” Mr Musk added.
The platform has long struggled to get the issue of automated accounts under control. Even before he bought Twitter, Mr Musk voiced his concerns about the number of bot accounts and tried to use it as a reason to back out of buying the platform.
In July, nine months after his takeover, Mr Musk tweeted that the platform remained in “negative cash flow”.
The company’s advertising revenue challenges have been widely reported, with Mr Musk floating a number of ideas to boost cashflow.
Earlier this month, he attacked the Anti-Defamation League, accusing the nonprofit that works to fight antisemitism of primarily causing a 60 per cent decrease in US ad revenue at X, without providing evidence.
“I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to not only stop antisemitism … but any collective hatred of a people,” Mr Netanyahu said during the meeting that was broadcast live on X from Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California.
“I know you’re committed to that … but I encourage and urge you to find a balance,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Mr Musk responded by saying he was against antisemitism and against anything that “promotes hate and conflict,” repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.
