Just weeks after announcing his desire to buy Twitter for $44 billion, Elon Musk has stated that businesses and governments may soon have to pay a “slight cost” to use the social media network.
In a late Tuesday tweet, the tech tycoon, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, stated that the platform will remain free for “casual users.”
It’s unclear how much Musk would like to charge businesses and governments, or whether certain groups such as non-profits and journalists would be exempted.
Twitter has consistently underperformed other social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in terms of revenue.
He said “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.”
Musk, who has 90.7 million Twitter followers, recently stated that he wants to “improve Twitter even more by adding new features.”
In the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Twitter is already experimenting with a paid-for subscription service called Twitter Blue, which offers additional capabilities.
The premium offering, which costs $2.99 a month in the U.S., gives users access to features such as undoing tweets and bookmarking tweets. Musk said last month he wants to cut the price of Twitter Blue and make changes to the service including introducing a ban on ads.
Elsewhere, Musk has also said all of Twitter’s direct messages should be end-to-end encrypted so no one can spy on or hack a user’s messages.
At the annual Met Gala on Monday, Musk said Twitter also needs to get rid of the bots and trolls and scams that exist on the platform.
“We don’t want people getting tricked out of their money and that kind of thing,” he said.
