Elon Musk on Friday announced that social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions. The move boosts revenue by charging users and wooing back advertisers, who stopped buying ads on the platform over fears of political interference and harassment of people who use the site.
Currently, X charges an $8 monthly fee for a blue checkmark that indicates a user’s account is verified and has other features, including the ability to edit a post. Those who pay the fee also see fewer ads.
The new tiers, priced at lower and higher cost points than the existing plan, will offer different benefits. The more expensive option will eliminate ads, while the less expensive tier will reduce the number of ads that non-subscribers see. Musk didn’t provide a timeline for the launch of the new plans or how much they would cost.
In a live stream last month, Musk said X is “moving toward having a small monthly payment for use of the X system.” He said a subscription model would be the best way to curb spam and platform manipulation and ensure the platform has a high-quality user experience. Earlier this week, the company began charging new and unverified users $1 a year in New Zealand and the Philippines as a trial to test its subscription method. The “Not a Bot” program requires new and unverified users to pay the fee before they can post or repost content, though they can still read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts.
Musk has long advocated for X to charge users for using the service. In September, he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “a few dollars” a month for tweeting would curb fake news and other spam on the site.
During his tenure as the CEO of X, Musk made a series of changes that caused the company to lose money and caused advertisers to stop placing ads on the platform. Those moves included firing most employees and disbanding content moderation teams, which led to reports of political interference, anti-Semitism, and other abuses on the site.
Since he took over the company in October 2022, Musk has been trying to boost revenues by charging users and wooing back the advertisers who had stopped buying ads on the platform. He is also working to make the site more useful and attractive to advertisers. He’s also focusing on creating a search engine that will allow people to get more information on their health and fitness, a major initiative that could lead to big profits for X. Please read our report on X’s recent financial results for more on the story. Nasdaq: XQN. Shares were flat at $34.90 in pre-market trading on Friday. The stock has gained about 16% this year. The company has a market cap of $44 billion.