Countless X users have threatened to delete their accounts as Elon Musk said everyone would soon face a “small monthly payment”.
The billionaire owner of the platform, formerly known as Twitter, sparked outrage today by saying additional fees for all users were the only way to combat bots.
The drastic plans come less than a year after Musk’s takeover of Twitter, which has already seen the platform’s blue checkmark verification system monetized at more than £100/$84 per year.
Now all users are at risk of being charged, sparking increased interest in Mark Zuckerberg’s “Twitter-killer” app, Threads.
“The day Twitter becomes a paid service will be the day I move on,” one person wrote on X.
Elon Musk sparked outrage today by announcing that all X users would soon be charged
Another added: “I’m done with Twitter the minute Musky tries to charge me for spending a minute here.” Find me on Threads. It’s free.’
“If Musk starts charging Twitter, I’m leaving,” others said. “Start using Threads exclusively.” Twitter will lose a few hundred million users.
The tech titan revealed its controversial plans during a live chat with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I would say the most important reason why we are moving towards a small monthly payment for using System .
“A robot costs a fraction of a cent, but if someone has to pay a few dollars or something like that… you have to use a new payment method every time you get a new robot.
“By prioritizing posts written by premium X subscribers, we will actually offer a lower pricing tier. We want it to be a small amount of money.
“It’s a longer discussion, but in my opinion it’s the only defense against vast armies of robots.” As AI becomes truly proficient, it performs better than humans on captcha tests.
Although future plans remain unclear, complaints have taken X by storm, with many warning that Musk could lose “millions” of users.
This comes just two months after Zuckerberg launched his so-called “Twitter killer” app, Threads, which garnered a record 100 million signups within a week of its launch.
Furious users threaten to abandon X for Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Twitter-killer’ Threads app
The tech titan revealed its controversial plans earlier today, during a live chat (pictured) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Although Threads’ active user base has declined in recent months, many wonder if it will see a resurgence if Musk’s plans come to fruition.
Like X, Zuckerberg’s platform allows users to create threaded posts and share multimedia content at no cost to non-subscribers.
“If Elon Musk taxes the monthly amount he says we will all look for new social media platforms because millions of people will leave Twitter,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Go ahead and charge a fee to use » It’s your funeral party!
One also joked: “Can’t he charge the robots instead?” »
Although Threads’ active user base has declined in recent months, many wonder if it will see a resurgence if Musk’s plans come to fruition.
Jake Moore, a cybersecurity expert at ESET, also warned that asking all users for payment could lead to a bigger problem than bots on X.
He told MailOnline: “Bots have been a problem on the platform from the start, but when Musk laid off a large number of employees, including security staff, the problem reached rather uncontrollable proportions.
“Requiring payment from all users could potentially alleviate this problem, but it could have a bigger problem on its hands with a mass exodus of users.
“With many similar alternatives already in place, such as Threads and Mastadon, this could be the last push for some users to move to the competition.”
MailOnline has contacted X for comment.
