Elon Musk says X, formerly known as Twitter, is considering having its users pay a “small monthly payment” to use the social media platform.
On Monday, Musk made the remarks during a livestreamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about artificial intelligence, saying the fee would be meant to keep bots off X.
“It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” he said.
Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
He also added that X has 550 million monthly users that generate 100 million to 200 million posts a day. However, he didn’t indicate whether he was factoring bots into that figure.
The meeting with Netanyahu comes weeks after Musk said he may sue the Anti-Defamation League for purportedly accusing X and him of antisemitism, and fueling advertisers’ exodus from the social network. The ADL flagged a surge in bullying and antisemitic posts on X following the billionaire’s acquisition of the social network last year. On Monday, Musk said he’s against “attacking any group.”
“Obviously, I’m against antisemitism,” he said. “I’m against anti-really anything that promotes hate and conflict.”
Is Elon Musk charging for Twitter?
Musk did not elaborate on how much payment would be to use X, but said it would be a “small amount of money.”
“We’re actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing … This is a longer discussion, but in my view, this is actually the only defense against vast armies of bots,” he said.
Currently, X has a premium subscription service where it charges users for certain features, including being able to edit a post and having prioritized rankings in conversations and search. Pricing for the service starts at $8 a month.
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