Elon Musk says governments, businesses may pay to use Twitter

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has said Twitter may no longer be free for governments and businesses. Musk who is on the verge of taking ownership of Twitter after agreeing to pay $44 billion for the company, however, suggested that individuals will continue to use the microblogging platform for free.

This may have confirmed earlier speculation that Musk will impose fees on the platform and cut costs to make the transaction financially viable.

“Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,” Musk had tweeted. The tweet from Musk has been attracting reactions from his followers.

What they are saying

While some said they would be willing to pay, others felt the billionaire would be breaching his promise of “free speech” if he went on to charge for Twitter usage.

• A Twitter user, @Cernovich, said: “People will scream ‘how dare you charge activists’ but they all pay for email newsletter services. I would gladly pay a large monthly fee for reasonable assurances that my tweets won’t be hidden by some far left-wing activist who treats twitter as a super PAC.”
• Similarly, @JohnBanach16 believes that payment for Twitter usage is necessary for Musk to recoup his investment and keep the business running. He said: “So he (Elon Musk) is just supposed to lose $44 billion.? He is creating millions of jobs and he has to have some way of keeping his business running.”
• However, another user @alivelice9 said: So much for the “Free Speech,” you were claiming to defend. When the world’s richest man buys part of the “public town square” to dictate policy so as to preserve the free speech essential for democracy. The absurdity of these times. Shows that the dollar speaks louder than words. The Commodification of free speech is not what democracy is about.
• Sharing a similar sentiment, @LeoTheDog303 said: “I have an issue with the richest man in the world telling others they need to pay more. You could have solved hunger or the housing crisis with what you’re paying for Twitter. Maybe try NOT taking more money out of people’s pockets.”