21-10-2023 (SAN FRANCISCO) Elon Musk announced on Friday, October 20, that the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, is preparing to introduce two new premium subscription tiers.
Musk shared in a post on X that one subscription tier will be more affordable and include all platform features but will not eliminate ads. The second, more expensive tier will offer an ad-free experience.
Musk, who assumed control of the platform in October 2022, has been actively working to increase revenue by introducing user charges and attracting advertisers back to the platform. Advertisers had previously withdrawn from X after Musk terminated the employment of most staff and disbanded content moderation teams.
Musk acknowledged that these actions had negatively impacted the platform’s revenue and attributed the situation, in part, to activists pressuring advertisers.
Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon.
One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2023
While Musk didn’t provide specific details about the subscription plans, a recent trial run by X demonstrated certain restrictions for users who opt not to subscribe.
In this test case, X began charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines a fee of US$1 (equivalent to S$1.37) for platform access. Users who chose not to subscribe would be limited to “read-only” actions, allowing them to read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts, as stated on the company’s website.
This approach, called “Not A Bot” subscription, aims to reduce spam, manipulate platform interactions, and curb bot activity.
Other major tech companies have also experimented with a combination of ad-supported and subscription-based plans. For instance, YouTube, owned by Alphabet, offers both paid and free, ad-supported services, while Netflix provides ad-supported plans at a lower price point. YouTube shares a portion of its subscription revenue with content creators, but X did not disclose whether content creators will be compensated in the ad-free subscription models.
To generate revenue, Musk implemented an $8 per month subscription service known as the “blue check” subscription and offered discounts to companies for advertising on the platform. However, due to concerns about lax content moderation, advertisers were hesitant to have their ads appear alongside inappropriate content.
Recently, the European Commission initiated an investigation into X to assess its compliance with new tech regulations related to illegal and harmful content, following the spread of disinformation on the platform in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel.
