Elon Musk Wants Everyone to Pay to Use X

Elon Announces PAID MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION To Use X, Critics Prophesize COLLAPSE Of Platform: Rising [Video]

Video uploaded by The Hill on September 19, 2023

The entrepreneur aims to curb the spread of fake accounts on the social network.

Elon Musk has a clear idea with X, formerly Twitter: he wants all users to pay to use the social network. The platform owner wants to curb the spread of bots, which are accounts controlled by a single person and cause revenue issues for the company.

This new idea was made public during a conversation between the businessman and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Musk explained his vision of implementing a “small monthly fee” to use Twitter.

According to the Tesla owner, this measure would be essential to combat the bot problem on the platform. Although the exact amount to be charged to users and the implementation date have not been disclosed, it does raise an initial alert about a possible change in access to X, which could cease to be free.

“We are going to transition to a small monthly fee to use the X system,” Musk said, explaining that the purpose of this plan is to curb the spread of bots, which has been one of the entrepreneur’s major concerns, even halting him at one point from buying the company.

According to the Tesla owner, this measure would be essential to combat the bot problem on the platform.

Elon Musk seeks to balance the social network’s finances after a year as the platform’s owner. “A bot costs a fraction of a cent, but even if the bot creator has to pay… a few dollars or so, the actual cost of bots is very high,” he added. He also emphasized that every time someone tried to create a new bot, they would have to provide a new payment method, making the proliferation of malicious automated accounts more difficult.

Such accounts are often used to spread false information, spam, and perform harmful actions on the platform, affecting the figures of real active users on the social network, which subsequently impacts advertising and revenue.

One example that the application could follow is what some digital media do by setting up a paywall to view certain content or all published articles, even though access to the site is free.

Financial Challenges of X

Elon Musk’s proposal comes at a time when the social network is facing a tough economic situation. According to the entrepreneur, the platform has seen a 50% drop in advertising revenue, contributing to negative cash flow and significant debt.

The premium service was launched with the promise of offering exclusive benefits to subscribers, such as the blue check and unlimited character posting.

X bet on subscriptions as a way to offset the decline in advertising revenue. The premium service was launched with the promise of offering exclusive benefits to subscribers, such as the blue check and unlimited character posting. However, this strategy doesn’t seem to be working as hoped, leading to consideration of introducing a fee for all users.

Musk Wants X to be a ‘Superapp’

Elon Musk’s primary goal with X goes far beyond just a social network; he aims to create a comprehensive platform that offers a range of services, similar to what WeChat does in the Asian market.

In addition to this function, the app is also rolling out new features in its direct messages section. This includes the ability to reply to specific messages by swiping over them, instead of holding down the message and selecting the reply option. The option to send voice messages has also been added, further enhancing the online communication experience.

This is coupled with the creation of a space for companies to post job offers, similar to what LinkedIn does, the inclusion of transfer systems, and payment to content creators based on the reach of their posts, which has already started to take effect.