Elon Musk is reportedly considering a significant alteration to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. During a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 18th, Musk mentioned that X was exploring the possibility of introducing a “small monthly payment” as a measure to combat bots on the platform. This move could potentially help reduce automated and spammy accounts on the social media platform.
“It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Musk explained, per TechCrunch. “Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny, call it a tenth of a penny, but even if it has to pay…a few dollars or something, the effective cost of bots is very high,” he added.
While Elon Musk did not provide specific details regarding the cost of the proposed monthly fee for X, he indicated that it would be a “small amount of money.” His interest in introducing paid subscriptions and exploring alternative monetization strategies for X has been evident since he acquired the platform last year. The existing X Premium, formerly known as Twitter Blue, is priced at $8 per month and offers subscribers access to various features, including a blue checkmark, post-editing capabilities, and prioritized visibility in conversations and searches, among others. It remains to be seen how this potential new subscription model would align with existing premium offerings on the platform.