Elon Musk Says Twitter Might Charge Companies, Governments Fees to Use the Social Service
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital EditorElon Musk, the mega-billionaire Twitter power user who last week clinched a deal to acquire the company, has floated a new idea for the social network make money.Musk on Tuesday posted that Twitter may impose “a slight cost” for companies or government accounts to use the service, without elaborating.“Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing,” Musk tweeted. “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.”To be sure, it’s just Musk spitballing at this point about what may happen once he closes the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.
But the latest Musk musing adds to the laundry list of potential moves he may make once he controls the company. He’s already suggested that Twitter may charge publishers a fee to embed tweets, per a Reuters report last week.
Like many of Musk’s ideas for Twitter, the way that would work in practice is unclear.In other recent developments, Musk has told investors that he plans to take Twitter public within three years of closing the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On Wednesday, a U.K. parliamentary committee invited Musk to discuss his proposed takeover of Twitter, with the officials citing particular interest in Musk’s plan to authenticate all users on the platform.Musk also is contemplating layoffs at Twitter and cutting executive pay, according to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg.
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