Elon Musk has proposed that the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, may require payment from all users to access.
The billionaire claimed that the only way to combat bots was through a payment system in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said that a tiny monthly fee would soon be required for system use.
A statement from X has not yet been sent to the BBC, despite their request for more information from them.
It’s not clear if this was just a casual remark or if it represents more concrete plans that have not yet been revealed.
Mr. Musk has long claimed that paying for verification is the best way to get rid of bots and false accounts on the social media platform.
Since he took over Twitter last year, he’s tried to get users to pay for an upgraded service, currently known as X Premium.
Giving premium subscribers greater features, such as longer postings and higher platform visibility, has helped with this.
Users can still use X for free for now, though.
Although charging consumers has a clear financial benefit for the business, Mr. Musk stressed that the goal of charging users is to combat bots.
He said that creating a bot only costs pennies. However, the effective cost to bots is really large if someone even needs to pay a small fee, like a few bucks or anything.
In the US, X Premium now costs $8 (£6.50) a month. Depending on the nation a subscriber is in, the price varies.
The richest man in the world stated that he was now considering more affordable solutions for customers.
We will actually develop a lower rung of pricing. So, he added, “We just want it to be a little bit of money.
Mr. Musk continued, “This is a lengthier topic, but in my opinion, this is actually the sole defence against huge armies of bots.
The danger of placing X behind a paywall is that it might lose a significant portion of its audience. The company’s current primary source of income, advertising revenue, could consequently decline as a result.
Antisemitism on X came up in Mr. Musk’s chat with the Israeli prime minister.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) advocacy group has charged the platform with failing to take adequate measures to prohibit antisemitic content.
The group claimed that Mr. Musk was “engaging with and elevating” antisemites in a statement.
This month, he stated that the business would file a lawsuit against the ADL to “clear the name of our platform.”
Mr. Musk reaffirmed that he was “against antisemitism” in his conversation with Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Netanyahu said that striking the correct balance between free expression and content restriction was difficult, but he urged Mr. Musk to succeed.
He continued, “I hope you find the ability to halt not only antisemitism… but any collective hatred of individuals that antisemitism represents within the bounds of the First Amendment.
I am aware of your commitment to that, Mr. Netanyahu continued.
