SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), said he will be charging all X users a “small monthly payment” in order to use the platform.
Musk, who has owned the social media site since last October, said he was moving toward charging users a small fee to remain on the platform during a livestreamed event on X with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. The comment comes as Musk struggles with advertisers, claiming the site’s revenue was down 60%.
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Netanyahu mentioned the challenge of preventing large armies of bots that promote hate speech, such as antisemitism. But Musk claimed that charging a small fee and requiring the use of only one credit or debit card per account was the only way to reduce the bots.
“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 in the livestream.
It is not clear what the monthly price would be, but Musk said the platform will come out with a “lower tier pricing” than it charges premium subscribers, which is approximately $8 a month.
The Israeli prime minister also asked the Tesla CEO about moderating antisemitism on X and how he plans to cut back on the antisemitic posts on the platform without violating the First Amendment.
“I know your commitment to free speech, and I know you’re opposed to antisemitism,” Netanyahu told Musk. “I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment a way to try to roll it back. … I encourage you to find the balance. It’s a tough one.”
“Obviously, I’m against antisemitism,” Musk responded. “Free speech does mean, at times, someone is saying something you don’t like. That doesn’t mean negativity should be pushed on people. Our overarching goal is to maximize unregretted user time. We can’t police [antisemitism] ahead of time. We’re not going to promote hate speech.”
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The conversation with Netanyahu comes after Musk sparked tensions when he tweeted on Sept. 4 that the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent left-leaning Jewish advocacy group, tried to “kill” the platform with false claims of antisemitism. Musk made several posts afterward claiming the organization caused the 60% drop in advertising revenue and said he intended to sue the organization.
Musk purchased the platform from former CEO and founder Jack Dorsey in October 2022. Since then, he has made multiple noteworthy changes, including rebranding the social media company in his own design. For example, he renamed the platform and changed the logo to an X instead of a blue bird.
