Will we pay for tweets? Musk is testing a new tactic
New users of Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, will have to pay a dollar a year to use the platform. The platform said it was testing the new policy in New Zealand and the Philippines.
Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has started charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines an annual fee of $1 just to use the platform.
Tweet fees
The policy, which goes into effect today, was first reported Tuesday by Fortune’s Kylie Robinson. The platform itself quickly confirmed this information, saying that it was testing its new “Not A Bot” program in these two countries. X did not specify whether the trial would eventually be expanded to other countries.
As part of the trial period, “new, unverified accounts” will have to pay a $1 annual subscription fee “to post and interact with other posts.” The platform said the trial period will not impact existing users. The platform added that the new policy did not “generate profits” and was instead intended to minimize the impact of bots.
Musk changes his strategy
Musk and his company have long considered making changes to the platform’s payment plans. Last month, Musk told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a livestream that X might introduce a paywall for all its users.
“We will actually offer a lower price. We want it to be a small amount,” the billionaire said then. “It’s a longer discussion, but it’s actually the only defense against the bot army.”
On October 5, Bloomberg reported that X plans to test three tiers of premium services for users based on the number of ads they see.
