- The owner of X/Twitter, Elon Musk, recently hinted at charging all users a monthly subscription fee to use the social media platform.
- According to Bovada’s betting odds, the Over/Under for the monthly price of X is $2.99.
- In July, Musk reported that the tech firm had a heavy debt load as advertising revenue dropped by 50 percent.
If you want to continue posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, there might be a mandatory fee soon. Last week, Elon Musk suggested that he is considering charging a monthly fee to combat bots on the platform. The Over-Under for the price of X is at $2.99, according to Bovada.
During a discussion with Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk claimed charging a monthly fee could be an effective method for combatting bots on X:
“It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” claimed Musk. “Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny — call it a tenth of a penny — but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high.”
The planned subscription fee differs from X Premium. Formerly Twitter Blue, X Premium starts at $8 a month. The premium membership offers a variety of features, including a blue checkmark on member’s profiles.
Musk’s new idea involves all X users paying a fee. Otherwise, they will not be able to post on X. The pay-to-play format would be a first among the major social media outlets.
Musk States That Monthly Fee Will Be Small
It’s important to note that Musk mentioned a minor fee. If you intend to wager on this prop bet at Bovada, Musk is not expecting to charge another $8 subscription fee to use the service. Regardless, this would not be a popular change among X users.
What a minor amount means to Musk is left up to interpretation, but in his comments to Netanyahu, Musk said ‘if somebody even has to pay a few dollars’. A few dollars would equate to $3, or $2.99 if you want to remove a penny.
In 2021, then Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, revealed Twitter Blue to the public with a monthly fee of $2.99. The ability to undo tweets, ad-free articles, and create longer videos was at the forefront of the initial features.
After Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, he brought the subscription-based social media model to another level. Now, he plans on a groundbreaking fee in order to just log in and make a post on his platform.
X In Heavy Debt With Negative Cash Flow
Is the real reason, Musk is charging a monthly fee to use X, to counteract bots or help take some debt off the books? Reducing bots may very well be true, but there could also be another motivator.
In July, Musk stated that Twitter’s cash flow was negative as a result of ad revenue declining. Following a number of staff cuts at the company, advertisers responded by stopping their advertisement campaigns from X.
Earlier this year, The Information reported that over 500 advertisers had halted their ads since Musk purchased the social media firm in October 2022. The source reportedly came from a senior Twitter manager, which also noted a 40 percent drop in revenue.
Seven months later, Musk clarified that the company’s revenue had fallen by 50 percent. With lucrative advertisers showing no signs of returning to X, the monthly subscription fee for users has to be a ploy to generate more revenue to squash debt.
Per Statista, there are currently 353.9 million X users. Even if roughly 10 percent of 353.9 million users signed up for X at $2.99 a month, the company would be in better shape financially.
There is certainly a financial incentive behind Musk’s scheme, but is there enough interest? It could be a last-minute Hail Mary play from Musk to make X a sustainable social media platform.
According to Musk’s comments to Netanyahu, and the Over-Under odds at Bovada, it appears that $2.99 is the most likely price for a monthly membership on X. If this comes to fruition, all bets will be deemed a push and a refund for bettors.
