Elon Musk Wants To Make X A Subscription-Based Platform For Everyone

Elon Musk, with his finger on multiple technological pulses, has raised the prospect of X adopting a new approach. He suggests that the platform could potentially charge all users for their access.

Musk’s rationale behind this idea is that implementing a paywall could serve as a formidable deterrent against the scourge of bots, which have increasingly become a nuisance on the platform.

At present, Twitter’s revenue model involves charging users solely for its subscription service, X Premium (formerly known as Twitter Blue). This premium service offers enticing perks like the verified account checkmark.

Via a report from The Guardian, the proposal was brought up during a livestream conversation with Musk and the Israeil Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Musk’s concern lies with the ease and affordability of setting up bots on the platform. By marginally increasing the cost of account ownership, even by a few dollars, bot operators might face a hurdle, as they would need new payment methods for each bot.

It’s important to note that the Twitter owner hasn’t confirmed whether the company will definitely implement this charging policy.

Musk has shared that Twitter boasts a user base of 550 million monthly users who churn out a staggering 200 million posts daily. It’s a substantial number that demonstrates the platform’s wide reach.

Previously, the platform used monetizable daily active users as a yardstick, which stood at 238 million before Musk took the helm. However, it is now grappling with a decline in advertising revenue, prompting the consideration of a paywall.

Musk attributes this dip in ad revenue to an advertiser boycott. This boycott seems to be driven by concerns surrounding Musk’s leadership and how the platform handles inappropriate or hateful content.

During the conversation with Netanyahu, the topic drifted toward the realms of free speech and antisemitism on Twitter. Netanyahu expressed his optimism that Musk would find ways, within the boundaries of the First Amendment, to combat antisemitism and other forms of hatred on the platform.

[via The Guardian and Forbes, Photo 285923746© Mino Surkala| Dreamstime.com]