Elon Musk reveals subscription fees for X (formerly Twitter)

The billionaire also discloses that the platform has 550 million monthly users and records up to 200 million daily posts.

Elon Musk hinted at the possibility of X, formerly Twitter, introducing user fees. Musk, the owner of X, mentioned that implementing a paywall could help address the issue of bots, a concern that has been a source of frustration for him. In a conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, Elon Musk, who is both the CEO of Tesla and the world’s wealthiest individual, suggested that X is considering the introduction of charges for its user base. Currently, Twitter charges users for its subscription service, X Premium, which includes benefits such as a verified account badge and is priced at $11 per month in the US for iPhones and £11 in the UK.

We are moving towards introducing a modest monthly fee for system usage,” Musk stated.

Musk noted that the current cost of setting up bots is “a fraction of a penny,” and he suggested that raising the account cost to “a few dollars or a similar amount” could discourage software operators. Additionally, he highlighted that each time a bot creator wanted to establish a new bot, they would need a new payment method.

Musk also revealed that X now has 550 million monthly users, generating up to 200 million daily posts. Previously, the platform used a different metric, known as monetizable daily active users, which was at 238 million before Musk’s acquisition of the platform in October 2022.

Musk has raised the prospect of introducing a paywall as the platform faces a substantial decline in advertising revenue, traditionally its main source of income. He noted that a 60% reduction in ad revenue was prompted by an advertiser boycott, fueled by concerns about his leadership of the platform and its management of inappropriate or hateful content.

While Musk’s discussion with Netanyahu was initially aimed at technology and artificial intelligence, it quickly shifted to conversations about free speech and antisemitism. This shift occurred amid accusations that X was not taking adequate measures to combat racist speech on the platform.

Netanyahu expressed his optimism that Musk would find ways, within the bounds of the First Amendment, to tackle antisemitism and other forms of hatred on X.

I urge and beseech you to find that delicate balance,” Netanyahu expressed. “It’s a challenging task.

Musk has utilized his X account to express his position, emphasizing that he is “pro-free speech but strongly opposed to any manifestation of antisemitism.