X Is Releasing Even More Subscription Tiers

When Elon Musk took over Twitter, the world of social media knew that everything was going to change. The twist? No one knew just how much. The deal cost the billionaire $44 billion, with Musk later admitting the site was worth less than half what he paid for it, especially as the social media platform was allegedly losing $1.7 million a day.

Elon Musk was quick to come up with plans to turn that around as he was now stuck with Twitter. Renaming the site X was just one of the plans, with various subscription fees - including one to get your hands on the famous blue check - coming over the last few months. Now, X is releasing even more subscription tiers, and people seem less than happy.

Elon Musk announced two new subscription tiers are coming

On October 20, 2023, Elon Musk had a big announcement to make, as he announced in a post that he was launching “Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions” on the platform. While no release date was given, Musk continued to tell people a little about what they could expect. Apparently, one is “lower cost” and has “no reduction in ads,” while the other is “more expensive” but does mean users will have “no ads.” It was a cryptic post and one that had people wondering just how much Musk will charge people to use the social media platform going forward.

A $1 subscription could limit how much users can do

As well as the news of even more subscription tiers, X announced plans to test a new $ 1-a-year charge in the Philippines and New Zealand. Apparently, this will allow users to post to X and interact with other posts, with those who don’t pay the $1 only able to read posts. According to X, the new subscription is a bid to crack down on bots on the site and fight spam, but it’s unclear if this is one of the latest subscription tiers that Musk was talking about in his announcement.

X Premium is one of the site’s biggest changes so far

Of course, the news of more subscription tiers coming to X comes after X Premium was launched. Currently, this costs users $8 a month and allows people to get their hands on a blue checkmark, something that was previously reserved for verified accounts. This time, it’s still limited to verified accounts but also allows users to edit any post. Musk also allowed several banned accounts to return to his platform and has since made huge cuts to trust and safety teams in a bid to bring in some kind of income for the site, but it has been met with a lot of backlash from users and celebrities alike.

X is still operating at a loss after losing advertisers

While Elon Musk might be pushing to bring in any kind of income for X, things are still far from perfect. In July 2023, Musk announced that X is still losing money because they have lost almost 50% of advertising revenue. This, teamed with “heavy debt,” has scared off plenty of advertisers, meaning this could be a last-ditch attempt to see X bring in any kind of profit. While Musk is currently the wealthiest person in the world and has a net worth of $225.3, he doesn’t have an endless amount of money to lose. After all, with so many businesses to his name, one financial hemorrhage could see Musk rapidly fall through the ranks.

X is releasing even more subscription tiers, and it didn’t take long for people to share their thoughts on the social media site’s latest plans. While it’s seemingly Elon Musk’s way to bring in more income for the website, it could certainly drive away even more users than before.