Elon Musk Wants to Introduce “Paywalled Video” to Twitter

Post-acquisition, Twitter’s $8 verification fee isn’t the only new monetization plan on the horizon, with reports that new owner Elon Musk may also look to add a “Paywalled Video” feature soon.

According to The Washington Post, the paid video feature allows creators to charge for their content and nets Twitter a cut of the fee. The internal emails provided to the Washington Post also highlight legal compliance concerns, and Twitter’s Product Trust Team “identified the risk as high.” 

Twitter’s timeline for the feature doesn’t give internal teams long for compliance review, with only three days to assess its risk. Monetization options include pre-set amounts, with options for $1, $2, $5, and $10 to reveal a video. Users can still interact with the content by liking or retweeting, but the video appears blurry until paid for.

The report could not confirm if the paywall functionality was a project launched before or after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last week, but Musk hasn’t been shy about changing things up. In addition to those plans for a verification fee, the platform may bring back Vine, and he’s already fired top executives. 

On the actual platform, Musk has continued to defend his monetization plans, and said the verification option “will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators.”

This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022

Twitter has a few options to monetize a creator’s online presence already, including the Tip Jar and Super Follow. The Super Follow feature is paid as a monthly fee, with the creator providing an “extra level of access and bonus content.” The difference here puts blurred-out videos on user timlines, asking for a one-time transaction to view.

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She’s worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today’s FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.