Musk Might Put All of Twitter Behind Paywall in Latest Genius Idea

Elon Musk is contemplating a change to Twitter that may put the entire website’s content material behind a paywall, in line with a brand new report from tech journalist Casey Newton at Platformer. The information comes within the wake of some weird choices by Musk after he took management of the social media firm late final month—a wedding Musk tried to again out of, however was pressured to consummate to the tune of $44 billion.

Musk’s proposed paywall for all Twitter content material, one thing that doesn’t seem imminent in line with Newton, may enable some customers to learn and publish tweets without cost throughout a brief window and solely cost after a sure period of time. Twitter didn’t reply to a request for remark from Gizmodo, one thing that tends to occur with any enterprise run by the press-hostile billionaire.

Musk has moved quick and damaged issues, within the parlance of Silicon Valley, although these breaks have include a human toll on the firm’s San Francisco workplace. Musk laid off hundreds of individuals final week, however managers at Twitter reportedly tried to defend workers who had been pregnant or going by means of most cancers therapy and in determined want of their medical health insurance, in line with Platformer.

But some individuals who had been laid off on Friday imagine they had been laid off exactly as a result of they had been susceptible and in want of time without work. One former Twitter worker who’s six months pregnant, information science supervisor Shennan Lu, tweeted that she cherished her job and deliberate to sue.

“There is definitely discrimination here. So I will fight.” Lu tweeted. “My performance has been tracking ahead (top 30%) for the last quarters, and I know for a fact that other male managers don’t have this rating got stayed. See you in the court.”

Twitter has even been making an attempt to rent again some workers who had been let go final week, reportedly as a result of some had been fired in error, whereas others will seemingly have experience wanted to meet Musk’s wishes for modifications to the platform.

Advertisers have fled the social media platform, perplexed by Musk’s haphazard administration model, which is all enjoying out in public on Twitter. And it’s these tweets which have spooked main manufacturers, provided that Musk seems to be palling round with the far proper and threatening to go “thermonuclear” on manufacturers which may pull promoting from the social media website. Musk tweeted a meme of a Nazi soldier on Monday, although in equity, he all the time simply steals memes and sure had no concept it was a Nazi.

Musk has additionally banned a number of folks from Twitter in latest days for “impersonating” the billionaire, one thing that’s clearly getting below his pores and skin. Musk has beforehand referred to as himself a free speech absolutist, although doesn’t appear to know what that phrase really means, given the way in which he’s managing Twitter. In reality, Musk not too long ago replied to a tweet by right-wing activist Tom Fitton who steered anybody calling for an advert boycott of Twitter could possibly be sued for tortious interference, a ridiculous declare that may criminalize protected speech. Musk replied with a easy “yes,” and the weblog Above the Law calls Fitton a “moron.”

Twitter’s debt burden is famous at this level, reportedly reaching someplace within the neighborhood of $1.2 billion to service per year. But it appears extraordinarily unlikely {that a} plan to paywall Twitter would really herald sufficient cash to cowl the price of misplaced promoting, not to mention make a dent in that $1.2 billion yearly.

But what do we all know? We’re simply chumps who didn’t have $44 billion sitting round to purchase Twitter. Well, Musk didn’t have $44 billion both, opting to associate with a few of the worst human rights abusers on the planet to fund his deal. But you get the purpose—Musk is wealthy, so he should be a genius.