Elon Musk tests $1-per-year subscription plan for all X users who want to post on the platform; check details

X, formerly Twitter, is testing a new subscription plan that will be more expansive than its existing X Pro (formerly Twitter Blue) plan. Unlike the premium plan, the new subscription price will be charged to all users who plan to make any interaction on the social network. The new subscription will charged at just $1 per year. 

Elon Musk, the chairman of X, has been offering this solution to the problem of bots on the platform. According to him, a nominal charge will reduce the spam and automated bot accounts.  The new feature is already being tested in New Zealand and the Philippines, according to X. 

The announcement about the new subscription plan was followed by Elon Musk’s post on X. He said “Read for free, but $1/year to write. It’s the only way to fight bots without blocking real users. This won’t stop bots completely, but it will be 1000X harder to manipulate the platform.” 

Starting today, we're testing a new program (Not A Bot) in New Zealand and the Philippines. New, unverified accounts will be required to sign up for a $1 annual subscription to be able to post & interact with other posts. Within this test, existing users are not affected.

This…

— Support (@Support) October 17, 2023

What happens if you don’t pay this nominal fee?

X has called the test, “Not a Bot” and users who are not willing to pay this charge won’t lose access to to their profile but they will be restricted in terms of writing posts, liking, replying or bookmarking them. However, there shouldn’t be any issue with observing other posts. 

In a blog post, justifying the use of the subscription charge, X said, “This will evaluate a potentially powerful measure to help us combat bots and spammers on X, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount,” according to the blog post. “Within this test, existing users are not affected.”

Earlier this year, X revamped the new premium subscription plan called X Pro. The premium plan is priced at Rs 650 in India, if you enrol for it on the Twitter website. For users paying via Android and iOS apps, the X Pro costs Rs 900. So far, X hasn’t specified if the ‘Not a bot’ plan will have different pricing on the App Store or Play Store. Those users who already pay for the premium plan won't have to pay the additional $1-a-year fee. 

X’s attempts to monetise users

X has been looking for new ways to make money. The drive to build new revenue streams built momentum after Elon Musk took over the company last year in a rather messy takeover. The company was left with a debt of $13 billion. The situation worsened after some advertisers decided to leave due to concerns about changes in content safety rules. As a result of this debt, X has to pay about $1.2 billion every year just in interest.

According to a report by Bloomberg, new plans to generate revenue were shared by Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, in a meeting with bankers. The report suggests that X is planning to introduce three levels of its premium service. It also plans to launch new features that could bring in more money, such as shopping and payments. 

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