Elon Musk has said that businesses and governments might have to pay to use Twitter (TWTR)
going forward.
The comments from Musk come weeks after the billionaire announced plans to buy the social
network for $44 billion U.S.
Musk, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla (TSLA), added in a social media
post that Twitter will continue to be free for “casual users” after he acquires the platform.
It’s unclear how much money Musk will charge businesses and governments to use Twitter.
However, over the years, Twitter has failed to make as much money as other social media
platforms such as Facebook (FB), Instagram and YouTube.
Musk, who himself has 90 million Twitter followers, previously said he wants to “make Twitter
better than ever by enhancing the product with new features.”
Twitter is currently experimenting with a paid-for subscription service called “Twitter Blue” in the
U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand that offers additional features.
The premium offering, which costs $2.99 U.S. a month in America., 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
advertisements.
Elsewhere, Musk has said that all of Twitter’s direct messages should be end-to-end encrypted
so no one can hack a user’s messages, and that bots need to be removed from the social
media platform.
Twitter is currently listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York but Musk plans to take the
company private. However, Musk has told investors that he may choose to return Twitter to the
public stock market in as little as three years, according to media reports.