Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, has considered putting the entire platform behind a paywall, according to a report from Platformer.
Platformer said it’s unclear how serious the plans might be and said such a move, if implemented, “does not appear imminent.” But, it shows how Musk is exploring ways to generate new revenue from the platform he acquired for $44 billion. He recently said Twitter has already had a ‘massive’ revenue drop as some advertisers pause spending.
A platform-wide paywall marks Musk’s latest musings about how to generate revenue for Twitter.
Musk has also laid out a series of ideas for a new user verification process for Twitter through its subscription service Twitter Blue, leading to confusion about the platform’s policy changes and spending pauses from some advertisers.
A Twitter spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.
In a thread of tweets, Musk said he will give “power to the people” by offering verification through Twitter Blue for $8 a month. He said participants will get priority in mentions, replies and search, receive half as many ads, and will be able to tweet long videos and audio.
Twitter began rolling out an update to its app for some users on Saturday in preparation for the launch of its revamped Twitter Blue service, but reportedly plans to delay the start until after Tuesday’s midterm elections. A Twitter exec said over the weekend that the service wasn’t live yet but the “New Blue” is coming soon.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO acquired Twitter last month for $44 billion, and his impact was felt immediately. He dismissed CEO Parag Agrawal, as well as Twitter’s chief financial officer and its head of legal, public policy, trust and safety upon taking over the company. Twitter laid off approximately half of its employees days later.