Elon Musk is considering introducing a nominal fee for new users who want to post on X (formerly Twitter), the social network and microblogging platform.
In a response to a post discussing changes to the website, Musk highlighted that imposing a small fee on new accounts could be the definitive measure to address the rampant bot problem. He pointed out, “Charging a small fee for new accounts was the ‘sole solution’ to combat the ‘onslaught of bots.'”
Musk elaborated on the ease with which current AI and troll farms can circumvent traditional bot detection methods, stating, “Current AI (and troll farms) can pass ‘are you a bot’ with ease.”
Further discussing the implementation details, Musk mentioned that new accounts would initially have the capability to write posts for free three months after their creation. However, he has not yet provided detailed information regarding the fee structure for new users on the X platform.
Previously, in October 2023, the platform implemented a $1 per year charge for new unverified users in New Zealand and the Philippines. These users could only read posts and were unable to interact with them unless they paid a fee to post, repost, or reply. Musk suggested that a similar fee structure might be applied in other regions.
