The formula will be more expensive, but with less advertising.
The owner of the social network Twitter, Elon Musk, announced on Saturday, in a series of messages, that the latter will soon offer a “more expensive subscription which will no longer have advertising”.
It would be a radical change in business model from Twitter, which has so far relied on targeted advertising for revenue, before launching a first paid subscription in mid-December.
Read alsoSubscription, integrated currency… How Twitter is trying to bail out its coffers after the takeover of Elon Musk
This new ad-free subscription will be part of a broader strategy to overhaul the presence of advertising.
“Ads are too frequent and too big on Twitter.
We will act on these two parameters in the coming weeks,” Musk wrote.
Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big.
Taking steps to address both in coming weeks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
The social network has been facing major economic difficulties since its takeover by Elon Musk at the end of October.
The company initially laid off around half of its 7,500 employees.
At the end of December, the man who is also at the helm of the car manufacturer Tesla and the company specializing in space flight SpaceX estimated that Twitter could achieve a turnover of around three billion dollars this year (about 3.24 billion euros), which would be equivalent to a contraction of 41% compared to 2021.
Auction and search for a successor
The various decisions taken by Musk have scared away a significant part of the main advertisers, frightened by the return to the platform of people initially banned for racist or conspiratorial comments.
On Wednesday, the company held an auction, offering no less than 631 lots of furniture and decorative objects, including a huge light installation representing the famous blue bird, sold for 40,000 dollars (about 43,200 euros).
In order to compensate for the flight of advertisers, the multi-billionaire, who explained that he had to "cut costs like crazy" in order to avoid a cessation of payment, is counting on subscription formulas, starting with Twitter Blue, offered between 8 and 11 dollars (just over 8 and 11 euros) per month depending on the subscription mode, and therefore this new offer to come without advertising.
For about a month, Elon Musk has also been looking for his successor at the head of the San Francisco company, after a poll showed that 57% of the 17 million participating users are in favor of his departure.
