Twitter is planning to launch an advert-free subscription tier on the social media platform.
The announcement comes shortly after the news that 500 advertisers reportedly quit the social platform over the past three months.
“Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big. Taking steps to address both in coming weeks,” Elon Musk tweeted this weekend (January 22).
“There will be a higher priced subscription that allows zero ads.”
Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big. Taking steps to address both in coming weeks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
Also, there will be a higher priced subscription that allows zero ads
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
The Tesla boss has increasingly focused on his subscription-based offering Twitter Blue since his takeover in October.
Advertising accounted for 90 per cent of Twitter’s revenue in 2021, but that has only continued to decrease after companies like Pfizer and Audi ceased placing ads on the social platform.
Meanwhile, earlier this month Musk broke the Guinness World Record for largest ever loss of personal fortune.
The Twitter chief executive saw a drop in net worth of approximately $182billion (£153billion) in just over a year, though some speculate the exact amount could be as high as $200billion (£164billion).
According to the post, which cited Forbes, the drop is “largely due to the poor performance of Tesla’s stock”.
It continued: “And don’t worry, even though Musk has lost more money than any human in history, he won’t be going hungry any time soon – he’s still the world’s second-richest person.”
In December, it was reported that the billionaire was no longer the world’s richest man, emerging soon after that he lost over half of his fortune over the last 13 months, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Since Musk took over Twitter in October, the site has faced numerous problems and controversies. The CEO immediately fired several top executives and half of its workforce, with users soon advised to archive their Twitter history after speculation the platform could collapse.
Access to the verified blue tick via Twitter Blue also sparked an influx in parody and fake accounts posing as businesses.
Other upcoming changes to Twitter suggested by the SpaceX boss include plans to introduce 4,000-character tweets next month.
A new redesign has also changed up the default feed that timeline users are faced with when they open the app, showing only suggested tweets.
The post Elon Musk to launch “zero ads” Twitter on subscription appeared first on NME.
