Elon Musk discussed the future of his social media platform X during a livestream with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, suggesting again that users might have to start paying to use the social network.
“Moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system,” said Musk, aiming to combat the issue of bots on the platform. However, details about the cost and features of the new plan remain undisclosed.
Musk also shared new metrics, stating that X now has 550 million monthly users generating between 100 million to 200 million posts per day. He did not clarify the proportion of authentic users versus bots or offer a direct comparison to Twitter’s previous metrics. In May 2022, Twitter reported an “average monetizable daily active usage” of 229 million.
The conversation with Netanyahu was initially intended to focus on the theoretical risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and its regulation. However, Musk also addressed criticisms about the platform’s tolerance of hate speech and antisemitism.
Discussion with PM @Netanyahu https://t.co/9rySOeZt2O
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2023
This follows recent controversies, including Musk’s threats to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for defamation, blaming them for a 60% drop in X’s revenue. As of now, no lawsuit against the ADL has been filed by Musk or X Corp., says CNBC.
Musk told Netanyahu, “I’m sort of against attacking any group, you know. Doesn’t matter who it is.”
According to public records, X is currently seeking licenses to operate as a money transmitter across the U.S. and has obtained permission in eight states.
