On a livestream, Elon Musk says X is “moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system”, as it's “the only way to combat vast armies of bots”

- Tesla, SpaceX and X Corp. leader Elon Musk and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a livestream …

CNBC 2023-09-19 Lora Kolodny

Context & Ripple Effects

Musk’s proposal frames a platform-wide access charge as an anti-bot mechanism rather than simply a premium upsell. It fits X’s subsequent exploration of a $1 annual charge for new unverified users in two markets, a narrower version of the same identity-and-payment gate.

The proposal also sits alongside X’s later work on premium tiers with differing ad loads, showing the company testing subscription design as both a revenue and product-control lever.

First-order effects

If implemented, a small monthly charge would make payment credentials part of basic X access, adding friction and cost for legitimate users as well as automated accounts.
X would shift bot deterrence from moderation alone toward an economic barrier that raises the cost of operating large volumes of accounts.

Second-order effects

Creators, advertisers, and other users would have to assess whether any reduction in automated activity outweighs a potentially smaller or less accessible audience.
The move would pressure X to distinguish paid access from its existing premium offerings and could make subscription-tier design more central to its ad-supported model.

Third-order effects

If platforms increasingly use payment or verification gates to establish account legitimacy, anti-abuse controls could become a core part of platform monetization rather than a separate trust-and-safety function.
The durable trade-off is between raising the cost of coordinated abuse and preserving low-friction participation; the limited Not A Bot test suggests X may segment that trade-off by user type or market rather than apply one rule everywhere.

The trend: Social platforms are testing paid and identity-linked access as a way to price bot resistance into the user experience.

Discussion

@mattbinder Matt Binder on threads
Twitter / X hasn't hidden view metrics for livestreams like they did for video here's Elon Musk with Netanyahu, which Musk promoted numerous times today 327k video views vs. 3.4 million post views video views are less than 10% of the public post views (impressions) metric
@vishvanands Vishvanand Subramanian on threads
Threads is the top trending tech topic on Twitter/X after Elon announced he will charge people to use the platform. Other alternative platforms like BlueSky, Reddit and Truth Social are also trending now. Elon is doing more than @zuck to make Threads succeed. 😭
@martinsfp @martinsfp on threads
The world's town square as a gated community where everyone has to pay. Funny, sad, dumb. Linda Yaccarino musy be checking her contract to make sure she can snag a book deal after it all comes crashing down. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@timothyjchambers Tim Chambers on threads
Sounds pretty financially desperate.... https://variety.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads
The Threads team on hearing that Elon Musk wants to charge ALL USERS a subscription fee to access Twitter/X.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads
It turns out getting Elon Musk to denounce antisemitism is like getting Donald Trump to denounce white nationalism. I'm sure Apple will be “constantly evaluating” this as one of Twitter's largest advertisers. 🫠
@willoremus@mastodon.social Will Oremus on mastodon
getting some “all lives matter” vibes here https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]
@kim_harding@mastodon.scot @kim_harding@mastodon.scot on mastodon
Husk and Netanyahu blame “armies of bots” for spreading antisemitism on X — https://arstechnica.com/... Israeli prime minister praised Musk's “opposition to antisemitism” in X chat.
@epro.social Emil Protalinski on bluesky
Oh, but I thought paying for blue checks was the only way to fight the bots? [embedded post]
@netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu on x
LIVE: Speaking with @elonmusk about how we can harness the opportunities and mitigate the risks of AI for the good of civilization. https://twitter.com/...
@daveleebbg Dave Lee on x
Elon Musk revisiting an idea apparently floated privately in the past — charging *everyone* to use Twitter. A lower tier than premium. “We've moving to a small monthly payment for use of the X system,” he just told Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it's only way to stamp out bots.
@loloverruled Lolo on x
This would make me sad because we'd lose this place but also, it would be fucking hilarious to watch him instantly lose 44 billion dollars
@prozd SungWon Cho on x
do it, free me from this hellscape, i can finally let go
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
Elon seems determined to cure my Twitter addiction, and god bless him for it.
@gadyepstein Gady Epstein on x
do it Elon, put this platform out of its misery once and for all so we can all go do other things
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
If he actually does this it'll kill the site. Doesn't matter how much it costs. There is no “X system.” Most people won't pay which will make most people not want to use the site because most people won't use it. It'll kill the site and the ad revenue in one swoop. Amazing.
@alecrobbins @alecrobbins on x
“it's the only way to stamp out bots” lol. this is like if every netflix price hike came with a condescending excuse like “we have to get rid of the ghosts haunting our offices”
@ericzhu105 Eric Zhu on x
this is the billionaire equivalent of selling your ps4 to pay for rent
@joelongballs @joelongballs on x
laughing at the idea of an effectively dead website where elon, ai made advertisements, and his 20 bluecheckmark reply guys just go “interesting...concerning..interesting. ..” at jordan peterson videos
@jeremysmiles Jeremy Kaplowitz on x
i would consider paying for twitter if they added a feature where if i post something a gun comes out and shoots me in the head
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Discussion with PM @Netanyahu
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
@oneunderscore__ Sheryl Sandberg used to play that card, too. It's either a scare tactic for public relations or a really dumb strategic move if they do it. My take.
@yascha_mounk Yascha Mounk on x
Reports of Twitter's death have been greatly exaggerated. But I am highly skeptical that a large enough number of people would pay to use Twitter to make this plan feasible. If Musk presses ahead, this might finally herald the end of Twitter as the key venue for public debate.
@darkviperau @darkviperau on x
The reason why Twitter is worth using is because “everyone” is on it. If you put a payment barrier to entry, “everyone” will no longer be on it so it will not be worth paying for or even using over the alternative that will pop up that “everyone” is on.
@junlper @junlper on x
this would be a good ass idea if you wanted to completely destroy twitter with swift and final blow
@dril Wint on x
oh my god lets fucking do this. elon, benjamin netanyahu, hit up my email. lets get fucking Rich. lets tank this stinker [image]
@pinboard @pinboard on x
People unwilling to pay a small monthly amount for a service they use constantly is quite a mood. It's like an endless episode of Cheers where Norm bitches to the bartender that his beer should be free.
@radiofreetom Tom Nichols on x
I use Twitter less than I used to; maybe Musk should just do this and shave this place down to the last dead-ender loyalists who would pay him.
@elon_alerts @elon_alerts on x
⚠️🎙️ Elon is now live to discuss AI risks & opportunities with Israli PM Netanyahu (@netanyahu), Greg Brockman from OpenAI (@gdb) and Max Tegmark (@tegmark). #AI @elonmusk Follow this thread for the main takeways.
@emptywheel @emptywheel on x
And it happens just as a workable Tweetdeck comes out on BlueSky.
@oneunderscore__ Ben Collins on x
lol go right ahead
r/economy r on reddit
Elon Musk: Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, could go behind paywall
r/EnoughMuskSpam r on reddit
Elon Musk: Social media platform X could go behind paywall - BBC News
r/elonmusk r on reddit
Elon Musk Suggests He Will Charge All X/Twitter Users a Fee

Chronicles