Elon Musk says new users will need to pay “small fee” to post on Twitter/X

Elon Musk has announced that in order to prevent bots from taking over the platform, new users on Twitter/X will be required to pay a “small fee”.

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter/X in 2022, there have been multiple discussions about the possibility of charging users for using the platform.

The company initiated a fee of one dollar annually for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines in October 2023. However, on April 15, 2024, there was a buzz on the platform when a modification to the website’s policy, which hinted at the possibility of Twitter/X extending the $1 yearly charge to other countries, gained momentum.

Elon Musk responded by stating that the only solution to decrease the number of bots on the platform is to charge new users.

“Regrettably, the only solution to combat the constant barrage of bots is to implement a nominal fee for new users to gain writing privileges. According to a post on Twitter/X, the current advancements in AI and troll farms make it effortless for them to pass through the “are you a bot”verification process.”

The influx of fraudulent accounts also depletes the namespace, resulting in the unavailability of many desirable usernames.

In another post, Musk clarified that after three months, users will have complete access to Twitter without any payment.

Elon has not yet explicitly stated whether new users will have to pay to use the app, but it is evident that he is interested in implementing this for new users in all countries.