Elon Musk intends to develop a way to monetize tweets that go viral or contain important information. He also suggested charging fees when third-party sites quote or embed tweets from verified users.
Elon Musk has hired a new CEO for Twitter and told banks that agreed to help fund his $44 billion takeover bid of his plans to monetize tweets, a new Reuters report reveals.
Elon Musk has decided who he will choose as Twitter’s new CEO, a source told Reuters, but the source did not name the person. Parag Agrawal, who took over as CEO when Jack Dorsey stepped down in November, is expected to stay with the company until the deal is completed.
According to Reuters, Musk told Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor that he had no confidence in the company’s management, a position he also expressed in SEC filings. According to the company’s latest proxy filing, if the deal closes and Musk hires new management, Agrawal will receive $38.7 million based on a provision in his contract.
According to Reuters, Elon Musk told banks he intended to invent other ways to profit from tweets. For example, he said he intends to develop a way to monetize tweets that go viral or contain important information. He also suggested charging fees when third-party sites quote or embed tweets from verified users.
Elon Musk to pay influencers on Twitter
According to The Washington Post, Musk also mentioned paying influencers to create content for the platform, which has proven to be a successful revenue model for TikTok. Musk is also thought to be intrigued by the concept of offering subscription services through the company.
Elon Musk pointed to major changes at Twitter Blue, the social media giant’s membership service, in deleted tweets earlier this month. Twitter Blue currently costs $2.99 per month. Musk suggested lowering the price, adding a Dogecoin payment option, and banning ads. Musk added in another tweet, now deleted, that he wanted to wean Twitter off its reliance on advertising for a large chunk of its revenue. Musk had also warned banks that he could cut the salaries of Twitter executives and board members to minimize costs.
According to Reuters, Musk claimed in his speech to banks that Twitter’s gross margin is significantly lower than other social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest, and that there are ways to run the business more profitably.
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the board, is expected to close this year subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and “the satisfaction of other normal closing conditions”, according to Twitter. If Musk doesn’t complete his Twitter acquisition, he’ll have to pay a $1 billion termination fee, according to a recent SEC filing. According to the document detailing the terms of the agreement, Twitter would have to pay the same price under certain conditions.