In a recent revelation, Elon Musk has announced the introduction of two new premium subscription tiers for the social media platform X, erstwhile known as Twitter. This announcement corroborates earlier speculations regarding the diversification of premium offerings by the platform.
Musk divulged that one of the new tiers will be priced lower than the existing $8 per month plan but will not entail a reduction in ads. Conversely, the higher-priced tier will provide an ad-free user experience. The incumbent premium plan, known for halving the ad impressions for subscribers, will now be accompanied by these new tiers, although Musk refrained from disclosing the pricing details.
In a bid to enhance X’s revenue streams, Musk and his team have been piloting various strategies. Just earlier this week, a $1 per year plan was tested for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines, encompassing basic functionalities like posting, liking, and reposting. This move, as stated by the platform, is aimed at mitigating bot activity and isn’t envisioned as a “profit driver”.
This initiative comes in the wake of a reported decline in ad revenue since Musk’s takeover, as per a Reuters report. The strategy to bolster subscription revenue appears to be a concerted effort to offset this downturn.
In a parallel effort to allure advertisers, X, under the leadership of CEO Linda Yaccarino, formerly with NBCU, is endeavoring to furnish appealing metrics. Yaccarino recently disclosed that X boasts approximately 245 million daily active users and facilitates 500 million daily posts.
Elon Musk, in his post on X, elucidated the new tiers saying, “One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads.” The announcement came alongside the initiation of a $1 charge for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines for platform access.
The new model delineates that users opting out of the subscription will be relegated to “read-only” actions like reading posts, viewing videos, and following accounts, as per the company’s website. Musk has been vociferous about his stance that a subscription fee is a viable solution to combat bots and fake accounts on the platform.
Since Musk’s takeover in October last year, there has been a concerted effort to incentivize users towards the enhanced service, now dubbed X Premium, and entice advertisers back to X with discount offers. The “Not A Bot” subscription method is an innovative approach aimed at curtailing spam, platform manipulation, and bot activity.
Musk acknowledged the revenue hit the platform has incurred and attributed it to activists exerting pressure on advertisers. His rapid restructuring, including mass layoffs and dissolving content moderation teams, has indeed led to a pause in ad campaigns by advertisers on the service.
