After the introduction of X Premium, which was previously known to users as Twitter Blue, the re-branded microblogging social network is reportedly bringing another change to the table, and that is charging existing users $1 just to take advantage of basic features such as posting. It appears that Elon Musk is attempting to do everything in his power to ensure that X becomes a cash-positive entity, even if it means forcing users to pay a negligible sum yearly.

The new changes will officially put X behind a paywall, with Musk’s desire to make the platform free of bots

A new report published on Fortune states users will be charged $1 just to use X daily. This includes posting, replying to others, quoting, reposting, bookmarking, creating lists, and more. This would effectively make X the first social network in history to force users to pay while also displaying ads, giving a whole new meaning to the term paywall. Though a $1 annual fee is practically nothing to the millions who wish to use the platform, some might term it a greedy decision to make X into a profitable entity.

Details of this report mention that the idea came from Elon Musk, who has expressed his desire to charge everyone to use the social network but also envisions a platform that would be bot-free, and the only way to do that is to start charging users. Ever since X, formerly known as Twitter, was acquired by Musk, a myriad of changes have been introduced.

First, we saw that a subscription was required to unlock certain features, such as editing and publishing longer posts. Shortly after, those who were using X would be limited to how many posts they could see on their timeline. The current X Premium subscription costs $8 monthly or $84 yearly, but there is the possibility of an even more expensive tier being introduced in the future that will eliminate ads from the viewing experience.

At the time of writing, X also put out a post on its official website, mentioning that starting today, users will be charged a ‘$1 USD Annual Fee,’ and ‘new users will be able to perform certain actions on the web version of the platform: post content, Like posts, Reply, Repost and Quote other accounts’ posts, Bookmark posts.’ While the decision might not appease many, Musk has a goal in mind that he intends to achieve with X, regardless of the cost.

News Source: Fortune