Under Musk, who has overhauled the C-suite and ordered operational changes at Twitter since his takeover, the company also is focusing on video partnerships to revitalize its business beyond digital advertising. A slide in the investor presentation showed vertical video now accounts for more than 10 percent of the time users spend on the site. Twitter envisions collaborating with content creators to sell ads and sponsorships alongside videos from high-profile personalities. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has a show on Twitter that exemplifies the strategy.
The company is in early conversations with political and entertainment figures, payments services, and news and media publishers on potential partnerships, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously because the company has not publicly discussed the topic. The source said the company has several initiatives in the works, including a new platform for live broadcasts, and is making significant investments to improve search and discovery of tweets and videos.
Another key initiative is a potential move into “paywalled video” that could allow Twitter users to charge for access to original videos on the platform, similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the company has been working on a prototype whereby creators could set a price for their videos and offer users choices, such as $1, $2, $5, or $10.
But the potential for monetization also makes Twitter a target for malicious actors who seek to spread propaganda and incite violence and hate, experts say. The platform is already used by criminals, bots, and people seeking to promote inflammatory or extremist content that violates U.S. law and international conventions.
Whether or not Twitter can successfully move into the payment space largely depends on how it retools its technology infrastructure and policies to address these issues, QUT’s Graham says. In particular, he says Twitter needs to better filter out false or misleading information and ensure that all accounts are correctly identified. The platform also should make it harder for attackers to use Twitter accounts to spread disinformation and amplify hate speech.
Other questions remain for the company. In the past, when it has censored or removed tweets that violate its rules, Twitter has had to fight back against criticism from journalists and freedom-of-speech groups who complain about how the site’s moderation practices have been politicized. Exactly how Twitter will change this remains unclear, although some experts have called for it to loosen its content moderation rules.
During the call, Yaccarino and the rest of the senior leadership team did not address a wide range of other questions from investors. There was no update on the start of deliveries for Tesla’s new affordable EV, the Model 3 Standard, no update on when it will begin production of the long-delayed revamped Roadster or a timeline for when it may debut its heavily touted robotaxi fleet.
