Elon Musk made an exciting announcement today, revealing that X (formerly known as Twitter) is gearing up to introduce two brand-new premium membership options. This confirmation follows earlier rumors and code discoveries.
In Musk’s revelation, he explained that one of these tiers will come at a price point lower than the existing $8 monthly subscription, without making any changes to the ad experience for users. The second tier, on the other hand, will be a more premium option, completely ad-free. It’s worth noting that the current premium plan guarantees subscribers to see only “half ads.” As for the exact pricing of these upcoming tiers, Musk did not provide specific details during the announcement.
Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon.
One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2023
In the beginning of this month, a user known as @aaronp613 made an interesting discovery within X’s code, which hinted at the existence of three different premium membership tiers. Around the same time, Bloomberg also published a report, shedding light on the company’s exploration of various paid plans as a means to enhance its revenue stream.
Of particular note, Meta has been contemplating the introduction of an ad-free tier, possibly in response to a recent judgment from the EU Court. This judgment emphasized the importance of offering users an ad-free option if they decline to consent to their data being processed by the company. TikTok has also confirmed that it’s in the testing phase for an ad-free tier. Whether X’s move is a direct response to the EU Court ruling remains uncertain.
Elon Musk and his team are actively seeking innovative approaches to boost X’s revenue. Just recently, the company initiated a trial of a $1 per year plan for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines, providing basic functionality such as posting, liking, and reposting. This strategic move was primarily aimed at curbing the prevalence of automated bots on the platform and wasn’t intended as a major profit-generating initiative.
Earlier in the month, Reuters reported that ad revenue has been consistently declining since Musk assumed control of the platform. Given this, it’s not surprising that Musk is exploring avenues to reinforce subscription-based revenue.
With Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCU executive, now at the helm as CEO, the company is actively working to entice advertisers. In an effort to appear more appealing to potential partners, Yaccarino recently disclosed some impressive metrics. According to her, X boasts approximately 245 million daily active users and witnesses a staggering 500 million daily posts.
