This is an interesting point. In my mind there’s a distinction between being able to read tweets and tweeting. It could be free to have an account and read tweets/follow accounts but $1/month to tweet. Or you get X number of free tweets per month. That would solve the issue of access to Twitter for impoverished populations and reduce the prevalence of bots/trolls.

Or a payment system could be that accounts purchase Tweets, I.e. you buy 100 tweets for $1. Bots and trolls are only harmful to the extent they can tweet.

My theory is that Musk will try to solve the bot problem by initially shrinking the platform and reducing the cost of operating it. Then try to rebuild the user population with new/better features that people will want to pay for- just like newspaper/magazine subscription. Hopefully the end result is a Twitter that is a highly positive cash flow business.

For the bodybuilders among us, Twitter is an obese and sick business that needs to undergo a major cut cycle before focusing on bulking. The key is Musk needs to trim the fat without losing too much muscle.