Elon Musk
X will be chargeable for everyone in the future?
Elon Musk wants to ask X users to pay in the future.
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Despite an existing premium offer, X (formerly Twitter) is still free. But that could change soon according to Elon Musk’s plans.
Musk called the introduction of a user fee the “only way to protect against bot accounts.” These automated accounts respond to certain keywords and then post reactions or texts. For example, fake news can spread quickly across the platform. Or it can give the impression that certain opinions are shared by many users, even though machines are behind them.
The problem of “armies of bots” preoccupied Elon Musk even before he took over the company in autumn 2022, when the network was still called Twitter. It would not be possible to clearly identify how many accounts are automated.
“Small monthly contribution” is intended to keep bots away
Elon Musk speaks of a “small monthly contribution” that X users should pay. According to the entrepreneur, setting up a bot only costs “a fraction of a penny”. But if its creator had to pay a few bucks, Musk thinks he would think twice. In addition, the people behind the bots would then have to specify a new payment method each time they create a new account.
The Captcha tests that people often have to use online to prove that they are not robots no longer offer reliable protection for Musk. A good artificial intelligence can now pass these tests better than a human.
It is already possible to create a paid account on X. Anyone who pays will be verified and can get the famous blue tick in their profile. Verified accounts can write longer texts and edit the posts afterwards. The tweets from official accounts are prioritized on X.