Elon Musk’s X hikes up price for premium plus plan to boost creator payments

Elon Musk-owned social platform X has increased the price of its premium-plus plan in several markets starting December 21, as the company aims to boost creator payments, reported Reuters.

Their top-tier plan has increased from $16 to $22 per month in the United States, reported Reuters citing a blog post. Prices for the basic and premium subscriptions remain unchanged at $3 and $8, respectively.

The top-tier plan is now priced at $22 per month in the U.S., up from $16, according to a blog post.

In October, X adjusted its revenue-sharing model to ensure subscription fees directly contribute to creator payments, with compensation based on content quality and engagement rather than just ad views.

The revised pricing model applies to new subscribers, while existing members can access the old rates until January 20.

Premium-plus subscribers are offered features such as ad-free browsing, expanded access to the Grok AI chatbot and Radar, which offers real-time analytics on emerging trends through keyword tracking.

Before Musk rebranded the platform, X (formerly known as Twitter) largely relied on advertising for its revenue. Subscriptions are a key part of Elon Musk’s plan to drive growth at the company.

In April 2022, Musk made an offer to buy Twitter for $44 billion after acquiring a stake in the company. He finally completed the purchase in October 2022 and rebranded the company as X Corp. in April 2023.

Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, became the first person in history to have a net worth of $500 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.