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Twitter must wean itself off advertising, says Elon Musk

 3 years ago
source link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2022/04/10/twitter-must-wean-advertising-says-elon-musk/
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Twitter must wean itself off advertising, says Elon Musk

Biggest shareholder calls for price cuts and improvements to Twitter's paid-for subscription service

By James Titcomb

10 April 2022 • 6:24pm

Elon Musk is Twitter's largest shareholder

Credit: Reuters

Elon Musk has said Twitter should become less dependent on advertising, warning that it allows companies to “dictate policy” at the social network.

The Tesla chief executive and world’s richest person, who last week emerged as Twitter’s biggest shareholder, called for price cuts and improvements to the company’s paid-for subscription service.

The comments are Mr Musk’s first intervention related to Twitter’s business model after disclosure of his stake sent shares soaring last week.

In a series of tweets over the weekend, he said anyone signing up to Twitter Blue, the recently launched subscription service, should be able to have their account verified, a status that only public figures can obtain.

Such a move would help cut down on anonymous bots interfering with conversations, said Mr Musk, adding: “And no ads. The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive.”

Twitter Blue was launched last summer in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and costs $2.99 (£2.29) a month for features such as undoing tweets before they are published, reading some news articles without adverts and extra colour schemes.

Mr Musk said the price should fall to less than $2 a month but users should have to pay for 12 months upfront, which he said would prevent scammers taking advantage of it.

He also suggested that Twitter should accept payment in dogecoin, the cryptocurrency that he has often promoted and iTesla’s online merchandise store accepted.

Twitter revealed last week that Mr Musk had acquired a 9.2pc stake in the company, making him its biggest shareholder. The Tesla and SpaceX founder has also joined Twitter’s board.

The company has told staff that he will answer questions about his priorities in an upcoming Q&A with employees.

Over the weekend, Mr Musk separately suggested that Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters should be converted into a homeless shelter, saying “no one shows up anyway”.

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