Elon Musk has hinted that business and government users of Twitter may be charged a “slight” fee, the latest indication of the adjustments the world’s richest man may make if he completes his acquisition of the social media network.
“Twitter will always be free for casual users,” Musk wrote in a tweet, “but there may be a modest penalty for commercial/government users.” “Some revenue is better than none!” he wrote in another tweet.
Tesla’s CEO has agreed to acquire Twitter for $44 billion (£35.2 billion), with $21 billion coming from his pocket, $12.5 billion borrowed against his Tesla stock, and the remainder coming from bank loans.
The projected $1 billion in interest payments associated with the fundraising have fueled speculation that Musk may levy fees and decrease costs on the platform to make the transaction financially feasible.
Musk has recommended a number of changes to Twitter in recent tweets related to his objectives for the network, including making the algorithms that select what users see on the platform “open source” – or transparent to developers and users. In addition, he has promised to eradicate spambots and “authenticate” all individuals.
Musk reportedly told banks last week that he would create new methods to monetize tweets and decrease CEO compensation to save costs on the social media platform.
According to Reuters, Musk reportedly told the banks that he hoped to create features to boost corporate income, including new methods to profit from tweets containing essential information or going viral.
Musk claimed at the Met Gala in New York on Monday that Twitter’s reach was “niche” and wanted a far larger percentage of the American people to be on it. Twitter has a daily user base of 229 million people throughout the world.
Musk proposed modifications to Twitter Blue, the platform’s premium membership service, in later removed tweets, including lowering the price, prohibiting advertising, and allowing users to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
