Musk says X will charge everyone to use the platform

[JohnSJ]

"Elon Musk said Monday he's moving to require all users to pay a monthly fee to use his social media site X, previously called Twitter.

Why it matters: The comments, which he made during a live-streamed event on X with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, come as the company struggles to regain trust with advertisers.

Musk said earlier this month that Twitter's U.S. ad revenue was down 60%. He has blamed the company's ad challenges on civil rights and consumer groups putting pressure on big brands.
Driving the news: During the live conversation, Netanyahu brought up the challenge of preventing large armies of bots that amplify hate speech.

Musk replied: "The single-most important reason 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 adding a subscription would make it much more difficult for bots to create accounts, because each bot would need to register a new credit card.
He added that the company plans to come out with "a lower tier pricing," than what it currently charges for its X Premium subscribers, which is around $8 monthly.

Yes, but: Musk has often teased new products or innovations, only to change course later down the line.


https://www.axios.com/2023/09/19/musk-x-twitter-charge-all-users-monthly-subscription-fees

[Walleye]

1. X will be a ex-platform

[RussBLib]

2. Vast armies of bots

...can bots be used to promulgate hate speech?

[hlthe2b]

3. Sure, since he's driven off most advertisers. Will be final death nail, albeit not quickly enough

in my opinion.

[33taw]

4. And I found free too high.

[mymomwasright]

5. Isn't there another way to prevent bots?

like 2d platform verification or "I'm not a bot log-ins"

[brush]

7. You just stated two methods the "genius" is apparently not aware of.

Talk about wrecking a good thing...

[Attilatheblond]

10. He started off by firing the people who could 'splain it to him

I still wonder if his last divorce financial settlement might be based on income from part of his holdings. There is a meanness lingering behind all his Kill Twitter activities.

Of course, a lot of his stupid stunts are likely about his need to get attention in a world full of distractions from the Wizard of Odd.

Can't imagine why anybody would give this jerk access to any sort of payment card numbers.

[brush]

20. I wouldn't. Seems like an opening for competitors Mastodon and Threads.

[DFW]

6. Charge away.

It will cost me exactly zero.

[marble falls]

8. Finally. Elon found a way to eliminate even more of his subscribers. How will that make ...

... advertisers happy?

[Mike Nelson]

9. Well...

... if i were an advertiser on Twitter, I'd read this news as an invitation to cut Twitter ad buys... I thought Elon was considered smart?

[Chakaconcarne]

11. Allow the bots to run rampant and then charge users to get rid of them.....

Sweetheart deal.

[Liberal In Texas]

12. That should finish it off.

Good job, idiot.

[marmar]

13. Elon's next book: "How to Destroy a Social Media Platform in 5 Easy Steps"

[dembotoz]

14. i dunno folks must have more disposable income than i do

having to make a budget entry for twitter or x or whatever it is, would piss me off sideways...

and yes i keep track of every penny i spend.

nice thing about debit cards..cash burns a hole in my pocket but debits leave a trail

[Oneironaut]

15. Great news!

I’ve always hated Twitter for representing the dumbing down of America, where news was suddenly condensed into 140 characters. It also created incentive to clickbait users, leading to the news becoming even more ridiculous.

I can’t wait for Twitter to be cast into oblivion. However, I’m sure something else will just replace it.

[Johonny]

16. Well bye then

[Doodley]

17. Hilarious! Can't you hear the right complaining you shouldn't have to pay for freedom of speech?

[jeffreyi]

18. This guy is a regular old piece of work.

I will hasten to eliminate all ties to them. Stopped looking at the feed a couple months ago.

[getagrip_already]

19. something tells me he will comp "certain" accounts...

cuz you know, they aren't woke and their voices are important.

Probably most of the remaining accounts will either be corporate news accounts that dont have a choice or comped accounts tha won't care.

[Tree-Hugger]

21. Are the vast armies of bots...

....in the room with us now?

[RussBLib]

22. Good question

...it has seemed to me that the bombardment of depressing or sad or frustrating news here on DU could be the work of bots or trolls. Someone needs to figure out a way to detect and eliminate them. Wish I could, but that seems pretty far beyond my capabilities.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. Mastodon cannot be owned or ruined by an Egoloon.

[LiberalFighter]

24. It will likely mean fewer bots doing the same amount of posting.

[JohnSJ]

25. I doubt this will get rid of the biggest bot, Musk

[pinkstarburst]

26. That will kill it dead

Most people do not pay for blue check mark status as it is. A platform with no reach is worthless. Great news for Threads and Bluesky.

[ZonkerHarris]

27. hahahahahahahahahahaha...let me catch my breath. Okay. hahahahahahahahahahahaha

[MissB]

28. He's not killing it off fast enough apparently