: Elon Musk suggests ‘slight cost’ for Twitter’s commercial and government users

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Elon Musk said that under his ownership, Twitter Inc. may charge “a slight cost” for commercial and government accounts.

Musk floated the potential charge in a tweet Tuesday, while saying “Twitter will always be free for casual users.” It was unclear if he meant only corporate accounts would be charged, or also individuals who use Twitter as a function of their job.

The Tesla Inc.
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+0.70%

chief executive has floated many big ideas but few details about his plans for the social network, which agreed to his $44 billion takeover bid last week. While pitching his bid, he reportedly offered new business models for Twitter and favored an ad-free option; Twitter
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currently makes the vast majority of its revenue from advertising.

Twitter currently has a paid tier, Twitter Blue, which costs $2.99 a month.

Earlier in the day, the Wall Street Journal reported that while Musk plans to take Twitter private when his deal closes later this year, he also plans to take the company public again with an initial public offering within the next three years.

Twitter shares are up 13% year to date, as compared to the S&P 500’s
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+0.48%

12% decline this year.