According to a person familiar with the situation, later verified by the company, X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will start charging new users $1 a year to access essential services, including the ability to tweet, reply, and quote.
One of the most significant changes to the social media platform since Elon Musk acquired the business about a year ago will take effect on Tuesday when the company starts charging for new members in New Zealand and the Philippines.
X’s support account verified the information in a statement released not long after Fortune broke the news of the $1 plan, and it justified the action as a measure to reduce the amount of spam and bots on the platform rather than an attempt to make money.
“This new test was created to support our already effective efforts to cut down on spam, platform manipulation, and bot activity while balancing platform accessibility with the modest charge amount. The company claimed it does not contribute to profits. Only new users are subject to the $1 annual fee; current users are not. Whether and when the payment plan will be available to consumers in other nations is still being determined.
Despite the small amount, the social media service, free since its launch as Twitter in 2006, has undergone a significant transformation with the $1 cost to access essential functions. According to Fortune’s source, new users must pay $1 to access basic features, including tweeting, replying to tweets, liking and bookmarking tweets, and making lists.
Musk tweeted shortly after the announcement that people can “read for free, but $1/year to write.”
Musk added, “It’s the only way to combat bots without obstructing real users.” “This won’t completely stop bots, but it will be 1000X more difficult to manipulate the platform,”
The “Not-a-Bot Terms and Conditions” document, which outlines X’s strategy for a paid subscription service that grants users specific privileges on their platform, such as submitting material and communicating with other users, was also made available on Tuesday.
Will X users put their financial information in Elon Musk’s hands?
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has long suggested that customers pay $1 to access the platform. In a chat with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was livestreamed last month, Elon Musk claimed, “It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.”
However, some consumers were reluctant to divulge their credit card information, given the company’s turbulent image under Musk.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino was questioned live on stage at Vox’s Code Conference last month about how switching to a full subscription model on X, which is currently live to users, could influence income. At that moment, Yaccarino responded, “Did he say that, or did he say he’s considering it?
