Elon Musk Announces ‘X Premium’ To Be Free, But Here’s The Caveat

Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has once again made waves in the digital sphere with his latest announcement regarding the popular social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now rebranded as X. In a tweet, Musk declared that users with a substantial following on the platform will now have access to premium features free of charge, a move aimed at enhancing user engagement and expanding the reach of these advanced functionalities.

 Under Musk’s new directive, all X accounts boasting 2,500 or more verified subscriber followers will be entitled to enjoy the benefits of X’s Premium features at no cost. Moreover, accounts with a more significant following of over 5,000 verified subscriber followers will be granted access to X’s Premium+ features, again without any fee attached.

This announcement marks a significant shift in the platform’s strategy, as it seeks to incentivize users with sizable followings to remain active and engaged on X. By offering premium features such as an edit button, the ability to publish blog posts, and reduced ad exposure to users with substantial subscriber bases, X aims to foster a more dynamic and interactive environment for content creators and influencers.

The Premium package, which was previously available to paying subscribers, encompasses a range of perks designed to enhance the user experience on the platform. These include coveted features like the edit button, which allows users to revise their posts after publishing, as well as the ability to publish long-form blog posts and articles directly on the platform. Additionally, Premium subscribers benefit from reduced exposure to advertisements, providing a more streamlined and uninterrupted browsing experience.

Currently, When subscribed from a desktop, a premium subscription costs Rs650 a month, and the more expensive Premium+Subscription is priced at Rs 1300 per month or ₹13,600 per year.

What about GrokAI and its accessibility?

One of the standout features of the Premium package is access to GrokAI, an innovative chatbot inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Initially exclusive to Premium+ subscribers, GrokAI aims to provide users with witty and informative responses to their queries, injecting a dose of humor and personality into the platform. By making GrokAI accessible to all Premium subscribers, Musk hopes to democratize access to this cutting-edge AI technology and further enhance the user experience on X.

Musk’s announcement comes on the heels of his recent unveiling of GrokAI’s expanded availability to all premium subscribers of X. Previously limited to Premium+ subscribers, GrokAI has garnered attention for its ability to provide intelligent and entertaining responses to a wide range of inquiries. With its integration into the Premium package, X users can now enjoy the full capabilities of GrokAI as part of their subscription benefits, further enriching their interaction with the platform.

The decision to extend premium features to users with a significant following underscores Musk’s commitment to democratizing access to advanced functionalities on X. By removing the barrier of entry for premium features and making them available to users based on their subscriber count, Musk aims to incentivize engagement and foster a more vibrant and dynamic community on the platform.

Reactions To It

Elon Musk made this decision as part of his strategy to boost revenue for the social media platform after assuming control of Twitter in 2022, subsequently rebranding it as X. Previously, Musk discontinued the legacy verified program, which provided a complimentary blue tick to prominent figures, opting instead to grant the blue tick exclusively to users who subscribed to the platform’s premium service.

While X’s latest offer seems very generous, it’s seems to be one of those ‘Just for 999’ marketing strategies. It relies upon the consumers want to pay less than 4 figures. What we don’t realise is, post taxes, the ultimate rate goes over 1000 anyway.

But dangling the ‘999’ carrot continues to be an effective strategy to get the consumer to buy a product and feel good about ‘saving’. While X will offer premium and premium + features to accounts with verified followers, we forget that for us to qualify, someone still has to pay the fee to get the blue tick. Verification on X right now depends on paying a fee, and there’s no other way unless you’re a public figure / government.

Even as we feel excited about the latest announcement, it seems as though this is another way to just push people to pay for verification. We’re not going into why this is good or bad, but simply analysing if the announcements made by Elon Musk’s X are as generous as they seem.