Elon Musk, the CEO of the X organization, confirmed the earlier rumors by saying that X, formerly known as Twitter, is thinking about charging all users to access the network.
A Possibility Of Charging A Membership Fee To All Users
Musk asserts that constructing a paywall around the company would deter the bots, or artificial accounts, which have grown to be a source of irritation for Musk.
The world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla stated that X would start charging its user base during a meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Users on Twitter are only currently required to pay for the subscription service X Premium.
For $11 in the US and £11 in the UK every month, the company offers services like a verified account checkmark as part of this deal.
The use of the system will soon be subject to a tiny monthly fee, Musk continued.
He added that setting up the bots only costs “a fraction of a penny” and that increasing the cost of an account to “a few dollars or whatever” might deter software developers.
Also, any time a bot maker wanted to create a new bot, they would want a brand-new payment mechanism, Musk continued.
Why Would This Take Place?
The X corporation had no additional remark, and Musk did not confirm whether X would definitely move forward with a charging strategy. As we all know, Musk has a habit of making impromptu statements.
Musk mentioned that X had 550 million monthly users who produced up to 200 million posts each day while talking about the users.
The figures appear to have doubled since the site previously calculated its user population using monetizable daily active users, which was at 238 million prior to Musk purchasing the company in October 2022.
The possibility of a paywall arises as the site struggles with a persistent reduction in advertising, which is its primary source of income.
Musk clarified that a 60% drop in ad revenue was the result of an advertiser boycott that was sparked by worries about his management of the platform and its handling of offensive or hateful content.
The initial description of Musk’s meeting with Netanyahu included a discussion on technology and AI.
However, amid claims that X was not doing enough to address racist remarks on the platform, the conversation swiftly moved to free speech and antisemitism.
Netanyahu believed that Musk would discover ways to stifle antisemitism and other types of bigotry on X while staying within the bounds of the first amendment.
In addition, Netanyahu said, “I urge you to strike a balance. It’s challenging.
Musk previously said on his X account that he is “pro-free speech, but against antisemitism of any type.”