Elon Musk has said X may soon start charging monthly fee from all users to cut down on bots
Elon Musk on Monday said that X may introduce a monthly fee for all users to cut down on bots. Since taking over the online platform for $44 billion in October last year, Musk has already made multiple changes to the site, which was earlier called Twitter.
The tech-tycoon released thousands of employees and introduced a paid premium option. He also cut content moderation and reinstated formerly banned accounts including that of former US president Donald Trump, according to Associated Press.
Bots are accounts run by computer programs rather than humans, and are commonly found on X. They can be used to artificially amplify political messages or racial hatred.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the question of online anti-Semitism during a talk with Musk on Monday, and asked him how X could "prevent the use of bots -- armies of bots -- to replicate and amplify it."
Musk replied that the company was "moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system."
"It's the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots," he said."Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny -- call it a tenth of a penny -- but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high."
"And then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot."
The conversation came when the Tesla tycoon is mired in a row with the Anti-Defamation League, a US-based Jewish organisation. The talk was broadcast on X.
Musk has alleged ADL that it made unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism that have hurt his company's revenue by scaring away advertisers. He has threatened to sue for billions of dollars.