Elon Musk's X to Charge $1 Fee for New Users Amid Criticism of Anti-Spam Tactics

Elon Musk's Twitter-like platform X announced $1 annual fee for new users to post and interact.

Launched in New Zealand and Philippines as a test to reduce spam and bots.

Musk defended it saying "it's the only way."

Critics point out bots already pay $8/month for verification, so new fee may not help.

Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has added unpopular features like removing headlines from links.