Elon Musk announces more changes to X
October 20, 2023
Elon Musk said Friday that his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, will soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions.
"One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads," Musk said in a post on X. He did not add any more details about the plans.
More changes coming to X
Earlier this week, X started charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines $1.00 for accessing the platform, in a test case called "Not a Bot," aimed at reducing spam and manipulation on the platform.
"This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount. It is not a profit driver," the X support account tweeted.
Users who chose not to subscribe in those regions will only be able to read posts, watch videos and follow accounts. They would not have the option of commenting, liking, sharing or posting themselves.
Musk bought the platform in October last year, and has since made a flurry of changes. This includes mass layoffs and disbanding content moderation teams. Earnings from advertising have since taken a hit.
He has acknowledged that the platform's revenue has dropped, citing activists pressuring advertisers as the reason.
Musk has also started charging users $8.00 (€7.50) per month as subscription for the blue tick, and offered discounts for advertisers.
Activists and watchdog groups say the changes have allowed misinformation to thrive on the platform.
tg/wmr (AP, Reuters)