Elon Musk Plans To Charge New X Users; Know Why

New Delhi: Elon Musk is planning to charge a small amount from new users of X (formerly Twitter) to use the social media platform, saying the move could solve the bot problem.

Responding to an X account that posted about changes on the microblogging website, Elon Musk said charging a small fee to new accounts was the “only way” to stop the “onslaught of bots.”

“Current AI (and troll farms) can pass ‘are you a bot’ with ease,” he said, referring to tools like CAPTCHA. In a reply to another user, he added that new accounts would be able to post after three months of creation without paying a fee.

“Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots,” Elon Musk wrote.

“This is only for new users. They will be able to do write actions for free after 3 months,” he added.

The change in policy was flagged by an automated account that tracks changes to X’s website. As per the account, the company experimented with charging a $1 annual subscription fee for users in the Philippines and New Zealand.

The “Not-a-Bot” terms and conditions page was included in the changes as per which new accounts must pay a “small annual fee” before being able to post, like, bookmark or reply to other tweets.

New accounts will be able to follow other accounts and browse the platform for free.

The new fee could help X at a time when the company continues to lose value.