Musk: Two-Tiered Premium X Subscriptions Coming ‘Soon’

Elon Musk says X is set to begin offering an ad-free version of its platform. 

“Two new tiers of X Premium subscriptions launching soon,” Musk posted Friday (Oct. 20) on the site, formerly known as Twitter. 

“One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads.”

He offered no other details about when the launch would happen.

The announcement follows an earlier one from the company this week that it would begin charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines $1 per year to use the site.

X’s “Not a Bot” program lets subscribers pay that fee to post content, like posts, reply, repost, quote and bookmark posts — essentially, all the things that constitute using the site. New members who don’t wish to pay can still get a “read only” version of Twitter: they can follow accounts, read posts and view videos but not interact with anyone.

The platform had earlier considered dividing its $7.99 per month premium plan into Basic, Standard and Plus variations, which would allow it to charge customers different amounts based on the number of ads they see.

In addition to ferreting out fake users, X has been trying to raise revenue following a mass exit of advertisers following Musk’s takeover last year that at one point had left the company cash-negative.

Last month, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said 1,500 advertisers had come back to the platform in the last 12 weeks, with 90% of the company’s top 100 advertisers deciding to return. She also expressed optimism about X’s future profitability, saying that could happen early in 2024.

X’s subscription plans come as other social media platforms weigh charging users to access more features or avoid seeing ads.

As PYMNTS reported earlier this week, Snap has been enjoying positive momentum in part because of the success of its paid service, Snapchat+, which surpassed 5 million subscribers in September, up from 3 million in April. 

“The paid subscription service offers exclusive features such as an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated selfie maker, custom wallpapers for chats, and access to the company’s AI chatbot,” that report said. “Snapchat+ has the potential to generate an estimated $240 million in annual revenue, with 5 million subscribers paying a $3.99 monthly fee.”