Tesla continues to create new paying accounts on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), to the point where paying to be on the social media platform currently costs close to $20,000.
Tesla and other publicly traded firms are required to report any “related transaction” that might present a conflict of interest between its executives or board members and any other businesses in which they have interests. For example, Tesla frequently revealed interactions with SpaceX over the joint use of Musk’s plane or the latter’s purchase of Tesla components.
However, now that Tesla is beginning to spend more money on X, it will have more to explain and justify to its shareholders.
Due to difficulties making money from advertising, X has turned to subscription services. For X users, Twitter Blue—now known as X Premium—is a $8 monthly subscription service. It “verifies” the user, gives them a blue badge, and gets them more visibility. Additionally, X is launching a subscription for businesses called “Verified Organizations” with similar features.
However, it’s pretty expensive- X charges $1,000 monthly for the primary account and then $50 for every other “affiliated account.” Meaning Tesla is paying $1,650 per month, or roughly $20,000 annually, to be on X.
Things have become excessive since Musk took over Twitter and introduced this new subscription service. It seems like Tesla is introducing several new accounts that require an additional $50 monthly payment for every area of its operation.
Tesla, for instance, unveiled new accounts for “Tesla North America” and “Tesla Europe” last month, “Tesla AI” in May, “Tesla Megapack” and “Tesla Optimus” in January, and “Tesla” itself in January.
Since Tesla only maintains a single official account on other social media websites, such as Instagram and YouTube, this tactic is exclusive to X.
