- Elon Musk said that X, formerly Twitter, could deploy a paywall for all its users.
- Musk says the move was key to helping manage bots on the platform.
- The billionaire didn’t give details but said X would charge “just a small amount of money.”
Elon Musk says his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, could introduce a paywall for all users.
“The most important reason we’re moving toward a small monthly payment for using System press conference. direct on X with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Musk told Netanyahu that having a payment system and prioritizing posts from premium users would help minimize the influence of bots.
“Because a robot costs a fraction of a cent, call it a tenth of a cent, but even if it has to pay a few dollars or something, a minor sum, the effective cost of robots is very high” , Musk said.
Musk said he believed the paywall was essential if X wanted to manage bots on the platform.
“We’re actually going to offer a lower price tier. We want it to be just a small amount of money,” Musk said. “It’s a longer discussion but it’s actually the only defense against robot armies.”
This is not the first time that the billionaire has considered setting up a paywall for all X users.
Musk had discussed the idea with one of his advisors, venture capitalist David Sacks, last year, according to a report in technology newsletter Platformer.
Musk has made a series of changes to the platform since he purchased it in October 2022.
In addition to renaming Twitter to an
These changes are part of Musk’s attempts to put the platform on the path to profitability. In July, the billionaire said in a statement Message that the company was in a difficult financial situation.
“We are still in negative cash flow, due to an approximately 50% decline in advertising revenue and heavy debt load,” Musk said in his July post. “You have to achieve positive cash flow before you can afford the luxury of anything else.”
Representatives for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside of normal business hours.
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