Elon Musk Announces Plans To Launch New Premium Subscription On X

Platform X or Twitter, will soon launch two new premium subscription levels. (photo: twitter @elonmusk)

JAKARTA - On Friday, October 20, Elon Musk revealed that social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two new premium subscription levels.

"One of them is at a lower cost with all the features, but without ad reduction, and the other is more expensive, but without ads," Musk said in a post on X.

Musk, who took over the platform in October 2022, has been working to increase revenue by burdening users and by retempting advertisers, who stopped buying ads after Musk fired most employees and disbanded the content moderation team.

Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon. One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2023

Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon. One is lower cost with all fees, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more exponential, but has no ads.

Musk has admitted that the platform has experienced a decline in revenue and has blamed activists for the pressure on advertisers. Although he did not provide more details about the subscription plan, a trial by X earlier this week showed some restrictions for users who did not want to pay for the service.

X began to charge new US$1 users in New Zealand and the Philippines as a trial case to access the platform.

New users who choose not to subscribe will only be able to take "only read" actions, such as reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts, the company said on its website.

The platform's "Not A Bot" subscription method aims to reduce spam, platform manipulation, and bot activity.

Other major tech companies have also been experimenting with a combination of ad-supported and subscription plans. While Alphabet's YouTube has paid and free versions that are ad-supported, Netflix ad-supported plans can also be costable, although at a smaller price.

YouTube, which like X is filled with content from users, shared some of its subscription revenue with creators. X, which also shares part of its revenue from advertising with content creators, does not disclose whether content creators will be paid in ad-free subscription models.

To generate revenue, Musk began charging $8 per month for a blue tick subscription service and offered the company a discount for advertising on the platform.

However, as the company faces criticism for less stringent content moderation, advertisers don't want their ads to appear next to inappropriate content.

Last week, the European Commission launched an investigation into X to see if the platform complies with new technology rules on illegal and harmful content following the disinformation spread on the platform following Hamas' attack on Israel.