Twitter’s commercial and government users may have to pay to use the micro-blogging platform, according to its new owner, Elon Musk.
Twitter on Monday, April 25, confirmed the selling of the platform to Musk in a deal valued at $44 billion.
The sale was a dramatic shift for the board, which had originally manoeuvred to block Musk from taking the social media network private.
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“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a joint statement announcing the takeover.
But confirming fears by the majority that his takeover might lead to commercialisation of the social media platform, the billionaire entrepreneur in a tweet in the wee hours of Wednesday, said commercial and government users will pay for the platform.
He, however, said the micro-blogging site would “always” remain free for casual users.
Justifying his move to commercialise the platform for commercial and government users in a series of tweets, the billionaire entrepreneur said free services led to the downfall of great businesses.
He wrote, “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.
The entrepreneur in a reply to a tweet added, “Some revenue is better than none!”
In an earlier tweet, Elon Musk said, “Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing.”
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