--- title: "Elon Musk Planning to Charge Users $1 to Tweet" description: "Elon Musk, madman that he is, is actually going to start charging to use the social network formerly known as Twitter. " date: "2023-10-18" modified: "2023-10-18" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-charging-tweet" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "subscription" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Elon Musk Planning to Charge Users $1 to Tweet ![Elon Musk, madman that he is, is actually going to start charging to use the social network formerly known as Twitter. ]() *Elon Musk and his mother Maye Musk arrive for the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022, in New York. - The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. The Gala's 2022 theme is "In America: An Anthology of Fashion". (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: ANGELA WEISS/Getty Images\* ## He's Running It sounds as if Elon Musk, [madman that he is](), is actually going to start charging to use the social network formerly known as Twitter. As [*Fortune* reports](), X-formerly-Twitter will begin charging users in the Philippines and New Zealand the equivalent of one American dollar to access the site's main features such as, you know, posting and retweeting — but don't worry, you'll still be able to "[read for free]()." In a statement to *Fortune* given after the magazine broke the news, X confirmed the change and referred to it as a "test." "This new test was developed to bolster our already successful efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity, while balancing platform accessibility with the small fee amount," an X spokesperson said. "It is not a profit driver." X support also announced the program, dubbed "Not a Bot," in a statement [posted to the site]() and its [help center]() and clarified that the test would not affect existing users — but left open the possibility that a universal fee may be in the works. "So far," the statement read, "subscription options have proven to be the main solution that works at scale \[to reduce spam and bots\]." ## Pipe Dream The announcement comes almost exactly a month after [Musk floated the idea]() of charging everyone to use Twitter. "It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots," Musk told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — yes, we too are deeply puzzled — during a September livestream. "Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny — call it a tenth of a penny — but even if it has to pay... a few dollars or something, the effective cost of bots is very high." The concept has apparently been on the billionaire's mind for a while now. Last November, an [insider told *Platformer*]() that Musk and his adviser, podcaster David Sacks, were heard in meetings discussing putting Twitter behind a paywall not dissimilar from the ones used by news sites, which would allow people to browse for an allotted amount of time for free and then pay a subscription fee to continue. Whether users will want to fork over their credit card information to Musk? We'll have to see it to believe it. **More on Twitter-X:** [*Elon Musk Baffled* About Why *People Would Want* to *See Headline Before Clicking Article*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()