Elon Musk addressed user complaints regarding ads on Twitter, saying the social network will be “taking steps” to change what he acknowledges as too much frequency for ads shown on Twitter and the ads themselves taking too much space.
Musk also hinted that a new, higher-priced subscription tier will be available and that it’ll entirely remove ads. Last December, Musk mentioned the fully ad-free subscription tier coming in 2023, announcing that Blue subscribers would see half the ads of free users.
Twitter users have been asking for a paid option that would remove ads for a while now, at least since the introduction of the original Twitter paid subscription, which provided various features to users but didn’t affect the way ads appear on the platform.
While Elon Musk recently revised Twitter Blue pricing, adding an annual subscription plan that costs $84, the price of the “higher tier” he mentioned is currently unknown.
The regular Twitter Blue monthly subscription purchased on the web costs $8, going up to $11 if purchased on iOS or Android.
Financial and Other Issues Plague Twitter as Musk Tries to ‘Fix’ the Platform
Musk is seemingly focusing on creating a profit driver out of Twitter Blue as Twitter faces increasing financial issues.
Musk’s Twitter acquisition has been a mess so far, with the changes brought at a breakneck pace at Twitter that spooked the investors, drove down advertising, and led to various upcoming and existing lawsuits.
The company has been cutting down internal revenue projections and is reportedly $12.5 billion in debt.
In an attempt to turn a profit or at least break even, Musk has cut down costs in various company-related fields, ranging from janitorial services to not paying rent for some of its offices.
Reportedly, some Twitter employees had to bring their own toilet paper to work after the company fired janitors. Besides this, the company has an unresolved issue related to severance payment packages promised to thousands of its ex-employees laid off by Musk.
While the ex-employees can’t start a class action lawsuit because of an agreement signed upon joining the company, they can all start individual arbitration claims against the company, with hundreds of them already on that path.
Recently, CNBC reported that Twitter has less than 550 full-time engineers left at the company, with the total amount of employees being around 1,300.
If the report is correct, it would mean Twitter fired approximately 80% of its staff because the company had 7,500 employees before Musk took over and terminated up to 5,500 contractors without prior notification.
The report also mentions that some 130 workers from other companies owned by Musk, like SpaceX and Tesla, also work at Twitter. Musk called the report incorrect and argued that,
He also added that less than 10 of his employees from other companies work at Twitter.
Read More Software News:
All Eyes on Apple after Alphabet Announces Mass Layoffs amid Tech Slowdown
Apple Could Allow Sideloading Apps With iOS 17 — Enforced by EU’s DMA