Elon Musk suggests he'll charge X users a fee to be on platform

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In this photo illustration, Elon Musk's photo is displayed on a phone screen in front of a computer screen displaying the new logo of 'Twitter' in Ankara, Turkiye on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Elon Musk is continuing to put his stamp on the rebrand of X, formerly Twitter, and he recently hinted at another change that may be on the horizon.

The Tesla billionaire is considering charging users a small monthly fee to use X, making it a fully subscription-based social media platform.

Citing a report from Bloomberg, Variety noted that Musk broached the topic during a livestream conversation on AI with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Few details were provided by Musk regarding the fee, including when it would happen and how much a subscription could cost. Musk shared that the cost would be to get rid of bot accounts, Variety noted.

Musk has complained of plunging revenue since taking over X, with many advertisers leaving the platform. His changes to the social media giant have related to the Twitter Blue subscription program, which now allows users to pay a monthly fee to secure their own blue "verified" badge.

The SpaceX CEO has made sweeping changes to the social media company since he purchased it for a staggering $44 billion in 2022. Some moves include a shift to focusing on paid subscriptions, but he doesn’t always follow through on his attention-grabbing new policy declarations.

X's rebrand is part of a strategy by Musk to create what he's tabbed an "everything app" similar to China’s WeChat, which combines video chats, messaging, streaming and payments, the Associated Press reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.

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