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Elon Musk: Possibility of X Social Media Platform Becoming Paywalled

Elon Musk has implied that X, previously known as Twitter, might require users to pay a fee to use the service. During a discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the billionaire suggested that the development of a payment system was the only viable option to combat bots. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced that they will be instituting a nominal monthly fee for utilization of their system. The BBC has endeavoured to get more information from X but has yet to receive a response from the company. This leaves uncertain whether the statement was merely spontaneous or hinting at more solid intentions that have yet to be revealed. Mr Musk has long insisted that the way to remove bots and counterfeit accounts from the social media website is to make verification a paid service. Since assuming control of Twitter a year ago, he has attempted to motivate users to purchase the upgraded service, X Premium. Paid subscribers are provided with more features such as the ability to post extended content and greater visibility on the platform. At present, people can still utilize X without any charge. Despite the fact that the company gains a financial benefit from charging users, Mr Musk stated that the purpose of asking customers to pay is in order to address bots. He said a bot only costs a tiny fraction of a penny, yet if someone were to pay a small sum, such as a few dollars, the cost of bots would be very expensive. X Premium is priced at $8 (£6.50) per month for consumers in the US. Rates may vary in other countries. The wealthiest individual on the planet declared that he was currently examining more affordable alternatives for customers. He proclaimed that they would devise an inexpensive pricing tier, noting it should only be a minimal cost. Mr Musk remarked that, although this would require a lengthier discussion, he felt that this was the only way to protect against a multitude of robotic forces. A possible disadvantage is that by charging for access to X, its user base may decrease drastically. This, in turn, could result in a decrease in revenue from advertising, which currently makes up the vast majority of the company's income. During his discussion with the Israeli prime minister, Mr Musk brought up the topic of antisemitism on X. The ADL campaign group has raised accusations that the platform has not taken sufficient action against antisemitic content. The organisation expressed that Mr Musk was "encouraging and promoting" antisemites in a statement. He declared earlier this month that the company would launch a legal action against the ADL in order to restore its reputation. During his discussion with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Musk stated once more that he was opposed to antisemitism. Mr Netanyahu acknowledged the difficulty of striking a balance between free speech and content moderation, yet he still pressed Mr Musk to make sure the balance is correct. He expressed his hopes that the First Amendment would enable them to eliminate not only antisemitism but also any hatred which anti-Semitism is representative of. Mr Netanyahu further commented, "I'm aware that you are dedicated to that."

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