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X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is planning to start charging all new users a “small fee” in order to interact with posts, its owner Elon Musk has said.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss said charging new users to post, like and reply was the “only way” to stop fake or bot accounts on the platform.

It follows the launch of a pilot scheme on X last year in New Zealand and the Philippines which required new users to pay a subscription fee of $1 per year to access key features.

Mr Musk’s comments, which came in a response to an account posting about the changes, suggest that trial could now be rolled out more widely.

In a separate reply to another account which questioned the approach, Mr Musk added that the fee may only be in place for the first three months after a new user has joined the platform.

The billionaire said eradicating fake and bot accounts was a key priority for him when he took over the social media platform in late 2022.

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