Elon Musk has outlined plans to charge some Twitter users as part of his plan to grow revenue once his $44bn takeover of the social media firm has completed.
The world’s richest man used his Twitter account to reveal that the era of free tweets was coming to an end when he said: “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.
“Some revenue is better than none!” he added in another tweet.
The announcement builds on a raft of other suggestions the Tesla co-founder has made since agreeing a deal to take Twitter private last week.
In tweets which were subsequently deleted, Musk suggested changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
He has also spoken of a desire for new features to enhance the user experience while also boosting trust by authenticating all users as humans as part of a bid to crack down on spam bots.
The Reuters news agency reported that he had told banks he would develop new ways to monetise tweets and slash costs through avenues including executive pay.
At the annual Met Gala in New York on Monday, Musk expressed frustration that the reach of Twitter was currently only “niche” and he would want a much bigger percentage of Americans on it.
Twitter currently has about 40 million daily active users in the US, according to the company.
Musk has reportedly given himself three years to implement changes and bolster performance.
According to the Wall Street Journal, he is planning to put Twitter back on the stock market in that timeframe.
The billionaire – who has a net worth of $245bn on paper – sold $8.5bn worth of Tesla stock to help fund his planned acquisition.
Reuters reported on Monday that he was in talks with investment banks and other individuals with means to help fund the $44bn deal.