Elon Musk met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at Musk’s Telsa factory in Fremont. During their exchange Musk suggested X, formerly Twitter, could require all users to pay.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP/TNSElon Musk said X, formerly Twitter, could start charging all users for access in a potentially momentous change for the social network.
“The single most important reason that we’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Musk said in a talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was broadcast online on Monday.
The owner of X said that charging all users would discourage the creation of inauthentic accounts, which are known for posting spam and misinformation.
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Musk did not definitively say that X would start charging users, and it was unclear how much such a fee would be or when a change could happen. San Francisco-based X laid off its communications team nearly a year ago and didn’t respond to a request for details beyond an auto-reply email.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, talked to Netanyahu in a wide-ranging conversation that touched on antisemitism, artificial intelligence and politics at the electric carmaker’s Fremont factory.
The company currently offers an $8 per month premium subscription that gives users a blue verified badge, fewer ads and the ability to edit posts, among other features. It also started charging for the service that was known as TweetDeck.
Musk also said X now has 550 million monthly active users on Monday. But in July, he said the company was still losing money and had lost about half of its advertising revenue. Musk faces interest payments of around $1 billion per year related to his $44 billion acquisition of X last year.
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Dan Ives, a managing director at research firm Wedbush Securities, said he expected that X would keep a free option but more subscription options could be added.
“We view X will remain a free platform for users despite Musk’s comments but more tiered charging will come down the road as Musk and (CEO Linda Yaccarino) look to monetize the opportunity. User growth looks strong but it’s all about building the super app for X over the coming years. Bots remain an issue for X that Musk and team are battling on a daily basis,” Ives said in an email.
Protesters rallied at Union Square in San Francisco as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited with businessman Elon Musk at the Telsa factory in Fremont.
Godofredo A. Vásquez/Associated PressAround the same time as the talk, protesters gathered in San Francisco’s Union Square to blast Netanyahu’s policies, which included a controversial effort to limit the Israeli Supreme Court’s power to overturn his administration’s decisions.
Netanyahu defended the move to Musk, saying he wanted to achieve “balance” between Israel’s executive, judicial and legislative branches.
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The Jewish leader also implored Musk to battle antisemitism and hate speech on X. Researchers have found that such posts have increased since Musk’s takeover.
“Obviously I’m against antisemitism,” Musk said. “I’m against anti-anything.”
Reach Roland Li: roland.li@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @rolandlisf
