X plans to use payment, phone and ID verification to stop bots, in addition to the new $1/yr fee
TechCrunchOCT 2023
Musk may be pitching a $1 subscription as a mechanism against unruly bot activity, but it may, in fact, be fuel to kickstart his "everything" platform goals that will include e-commerce and micropayments. Equally as important, the fee is unlikely to actually put a dent in X's bot problem but could isolate many users who don't have access to a bank account.
While the $1 fee alone may not be enough to bring an end to X's disruptive bots, it's a good start. With the rapid advancement of AI, new and improved methods will be needed to target the scams, and this subscription fee is just one of many ideas that, in tandem, may very well offer a solution.