During a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk made several significant announcements about X.
On Monday, September 18th, Musk had a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During this event, Musk made several significant announcements about X.
According to Musk, these changes include introducing fees for premium features, altering the platform's name, and imposing limits on daily post views for free users.
Musk revealed that X currently has 550 million monthly users, with a daily output of 100 million to 200 million posts. However, he suggested that there were 'vast armies' of fake accounts on the platform.
So, in an effort to combat the bots, Musk informed Netanyahu that X plans to 'move to have a small monthly payment for use of the X system.' However, specific details regarding pricing and available features for different tiers have not been revealed.
Musk told to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: I'd say the single most important reason we're moving towards having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is that it's the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots'.
'A bot costs a fraction of a penny, but if somebody has to pay a few dollars or something... you have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot.
'Prioritizing posts that are written by X premium subscribers, we're actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing. We want it to be a small amount of money.'
Currently, X offers a premium Blue service for a monthly fee of £9.60 or $8, which allows users to subscribe to the platform's premium Blue service. However, Musk mentioned that the new system will introduce 'lower tier pricing.'
While Musk did not specify the exact timing of these changes, he emphasized that a subscription fee would deter bots from creating accounts, as each subscription would require a new credit card.
He added: 'It's a longer discussion, but in my view, this is the only defense against vast armies of bots. As the AI gets really good it's getting better at passing the captcha tests than humans.'
The precise amount of the upcoming reduced "monthly payment" remains uncertain, as does the question of which features will be accessible or restricted for subscribers at different tiers.
Presently, Blue subscribers enjoy the benefit of having their posts given priority in others' feeds, while non-paying users may experience reduced visibility on the platform, potentially resulting in lower engagement. Subscribers also have the option to obtain a verified badge next to their username.
Although Musk did not specify the exact implementation date for these charges, he clarified that introducing a subscription fee would raise the barrier for bots attempting to create accounts, as they would require new credit cards for each attempt.
