Elon Musk's X to launch premium subscriptions soon

Shutterstock (For illustration)

Elon Musk said on Friday social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions.

"One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads," Musk said on a post on X.

Musk did not provide more detail on the subscription plans.

Earlier this week, the company started charging new users $1 in New Zealand and the Philippines as a test case for accessing the platform.

New users who opted out of subscribing will only be able to take "read only" actions, such as: read posts, watch videos, and follow accounts, the company said on its website.

Its "Not A Bot" subscription method aims to reduce spam, manipulation of the platform and bot activity.

Since taking over the platform in October 2022, Musk's rapid changes, including mass layoffs and disbanding content moderation teams, has led to advertisers halting ads on the service.

Musk has acknowledged that the platform has taken a hit on revenue and has blamed activists for pressuring advertisers.

To generate revenue, Musk started charging $8 per month for the blue check subscription service and tried to woo advertisers back to X with offers of discounts.

More from Business

  • Nasdaq set to confirm bear market as Trump tariffs trigger recession fears

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was set to confirm it was in a bear market on Friday, down more than 20 per cent from a recent record high, as investors fled riskier assets on fears that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could spark a trade war and tip the global economy into recession.

  • Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum exceed 500M boe in Khor Mor field

    UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, alongside their partners in the Pearl Petroleum consortium, have said the cumulative production from their Khor Mor project, the largest non-associated gas field in Iraq, has exceeded 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

  • China to impose tariffs of 34% on all US goods

    China has announced a slew of additional tariffs and restrictions against US goods as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Finance Ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34 per cent on all US goods from April 10.

  • Shares bruised, dollar crumbles as Trump tariffs stir recession fears

    Stocks limped to the end of the week on Friday, the dollar was set for its worst week in a month while gold flirted with a record peak as investors feared US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs would tip the global economy into a recession.

  • Wall Street futures sink as tariffs fuel recession fears

    US stock index futures tumbled on Thursday after President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on major trade partners heightened fears of an all-out trade war that could push the global economy into a recession.