Elon Musk Floats Plan To Charge “Small Monthly” Payment For Anyone To Use X, Formerly Known As Twitter

deadline.com:

Elon Musk said that X, formerly known as Twitter, is moving to a “small monthly payment system” because “it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.” In a discussion on Monday with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk suggested that it would be a lower-tier pricing structure than its $8-per-month Twitter Blue, its premium subscription service. “We’re wanting it to be just a small amount of money,” Musk said. “It’s a longer discussion, but in my view this is the only defense against vast armies of bots, because as AI gets very, very good, it’s actually able to pass these sort of CAPTCHA tests better than humans.” Musk has long complained about X/Twitter’s battle against bots, but he’s also reportedly considered putting the social media platform behind a paywall since shortly after he purchased it last year.

His statements also come as the company grapples with a loss of ad revenue. Musk wrote in July that the company had seen a nearly 50% drop in ad revenue plus a heavy debt load.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, urged Musk to try to roll back antisemitism on his platform. “It doesn’t stop you from coming out as you have in every possible forum and condemn antisemitism.” Last month, Musk threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League, claiming that it was making “unfounded accusations” that anti-semitism was being allowed to spread on the platform as Musk has reinstated accounts.

Greenblatt told CNN that “what’s alarming is the rise of antisemitism across the country. Like, we’ve got to see the big picture here.