Want to sign up for X (formerly Twitter) or create a new account?
Well, he’s going to charge you.
Elon Musk revealed on Monday that new users of the site will have to start paying a “small fee” a year in hopes of restricting bots on the site.
Today’s AI (and troll farms) can seamlessly ask “are you a robot?”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2024
Musk, of course, complained about the number of bots in it before he bought it, but that number has increased tenfold since taking office.
Musk revealed the news after the @xDaily account showed what appeared to be an update to the app noting the new fees. He did not specify the amount of the fee. The app hasn’t been updated either.
This is, of course, the same Elon Musk who recently owned a Burner account that claimed to be an edit of himself from two years ago.
This account has since been deleted.
So why those new settings now? Musk says it’s for robot control, but a recent study by investment firm Fidelity brings him to his senses.
According to a new disclosure last November, Fidelity, which helped Musk fund the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, “estimates that the company is worth 71. 5% less than it was at the time of the acquisition,” according to Axios.
But wait, more!
“The investment company slashed X’s valuation by roughly 10. 7% in November alone, from an estimate of $6. 3 million at the end of October to just $5. 6 million at the end of the following month, according to a recent filing. “
Robots are a problem. In fact, they are a major problem. But this is a problem, like many others, caused by Musk himself. And the new tweaks probably won’t solve that problem. But they will create a new (albeit modest) stream of profit for a site that’s wasting money faster than you imagine.