Billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly revealed plans to make people pay to use Twitter in the near future during a discussion around technology and artificial intelligence.
Speaking in a roundtable discussion with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as physicist Max Tegmark and the president and co-founder of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, the group got on to the subject of Musk‘s current pet project: X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Space X and Tesla boss has been the owner of the social media platform since October 2022 and, as well as changing its name, has already made a number of tweaks, including limiting the number of tweets an account can view, to purging verified accounts and introducing a premium subscription model.
However, it now seems that charging people to ‘make the most of the site’ through the optional upgraded tier (initially named ‘Twitter Blue‘) is set to go even further as during the roundtable, Musk said that the company is moving towards having everyone make “a small monthly payment” to use X.
In fact, as the above article would suggest, it appears that the South African business magnate has long had designs on moving towards a full paywall model, explaining his primary reason in response to a question about AI and bots on Monday, 18 September.
“We’re actually going to come out with lower tier pricing”, said Musk. “We want it to be just a small amount of money. In my view, this is actually the only defence against vast armies of bots.
“The single most important reason that we’re moving to having a small monthly payment for the use of the X system is that it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.”
While it is true that Twitter/X is flooded with bots, it goes without saying that the reaction online hasn’t exactly been positive, with many remarking, “This app will die” if people have to pay; “RIP Twitter X or whatever he wants to call it” and countless other versions of the same, very simple answer: no.
I'm not going to pay for Twitter because I'm the fucking product, not the customer. Get it straight, you apartheid a-hole. pic.twitter.com/ty8Yf7fCAt
Expanding on his justification, Muks said this approach will combat AI accounts “because a bot costs a fraction of a penny, or a tenth of a penny, but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high, and then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot.”
Nevertheless, given the fact that there are currently around 640,000 X Premium subscribers — according to the most recent figures, anyway — out of an estimated 528.3 million monthly users, we’re going to guess you’ll find the majority aren’t willing to pay for what was once a free and fundamentally uncomplicated service.
Would you ever be willing to pay for X (Twitter), or is this just yet another example of Elon Musk making this app way more complicated than it needs to be?
You can watch the full roundtable discussion below:
Florence + The Machine announce massive Manchester gig on new tour
Daisy Jackson
Florence + The Machine are heading back out on a huge arena tour, with a massive gig here in Manchester.
Florence Welch has announced the UK and European tour dates in support of her sixth studio album, Everybody Scream.
As well as a show at the Co-op Live in Manchester, Florence + The Machine will perform in Sheffield, London and Liverpool, along with several other UK cities.
She’ll be joined by Paris Paloma as support across all 18 dates.
Last week, Florence released the album’s title track, ahead of the album’s release on 31 October. She’s worked for two years on this new music, calling on collaborators including Mark Bowen of IDLES, Aaron Dessner and Mitski.
She has said that this new album explores womanhood, partnership, aging and dying, inspired by her recovery from lifesaving surgery on the Dance Fever Tour.
Big hits of Florence + The Machine’s discography include You’ve Got The Love, Shake It Out, and Spectrum (Say My Name), and she’s collaborated with the likes of Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, and Lady Gaga.
She’s famed for her high-energy, ethereal stage presence which has seen her sell out arenas for years.
Florence + The Machine will be back in Manchester in February 2026, performing at the Co-op Live on 20 February.
Tickets go on sale on Friday 5 September 2025 at 10am HERE.
There are also packages available with Seat Unique HERE.
New ‘postboxes of the future’ are being rolled out across the UK
Danny Jones
The Royal Mail is starting to roll out its line of so-called “postboxes of the future” across the UK this year, including right here in Greater Manchester.
It has been dubbed the most important and noticeable transformation to the classic British postbox in its entire 175-year history.
The national postal service teased the modern-day upgrade earlier this year, but the revolutionary new upgrade was officially announced this week, with Royal Mail ushering in a new era of digitally-driven units that should make many lives a lot easier – at least in theory.
Although they might look pretty identical to the iconic red boxes since before the turn of the 19th century have used up and down the country, there are marked differences between the new and the old ones.
Credit: Royal Mail
The biggest change made to the Royal Mail’s soon-to-be standard design is a digitally activated drop-down drawer, which will be able to fit parcels as big as a shoebox, hopefully saving us Brits on a fair few trips to the post office.
You will be able to scan a barcode via the updated Royal Mail app to activate the drawer for larger items; meanwhile, there will be a separate slot for letters and smaller packages.
Additionally, the new range of high-tech postboxes will also be solar-powered, helping the public limited company chase its ‘green’ targets.
Now owned by parent firm International Distribution Services (IDS) – who also oversee Parcelforce Worldwide – following the UK government’s approval of its historic sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský at the end of 2024, the group as a whole is undergoing a significant overhaul.
Britain’s new solar postboxes were first trialled back in April in four towns located throughout the Hertfordshire region: Letchworth Garden City, Ware and Hertford. A fifth was later installed in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire, too.
Despite being quickly considered a success on the whole, the initial design featured an entirely black top, with polls of civilians and Royal Mail themselves agreeing that keeping them red all over was more in keeping with the brand.
It’s like the old school phone box, isn’t it? We can’t picture it any other way.
📮Attention Postbox Lovers 📮
Royal Mail is upgrading postboxes to accept parcels. They'll gaining a new slot and a solar panel on top
Speaking in a statement, the Royal Mail‘s managing director of ‘out-of-home and commercial excellence’, Jack Clarkson, said: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.
“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.
“Our message is clear – if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”
The new generation postboxes are now being made permanent in the same locations, with Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester next.
Keep your eyes peeled on the streets as they’ll soon be making a debut in your area.
Danny Jones -
19th September 2023 
