E-Paper
‘Lets do it’: Elon Musk hints X will pay creators more than YouTube
Elon Musk hinted that X may increase creator payouts to surpass YouTube, saying that the platform will boost earnings while cracking down on fraud.
Elon Musk on Wednesday suggested that X is considering increasing payments to content creators as part of its ongoing effort to compete with YouTube’s monetisation model.
Responding to a post calling for higher payouts to creators, Musk tagged X’s head of product Nikita Bier and said, “Ok, let’s do it, but rigorously enforcing no gaming of the system.” Bier replied promptly, saying the team was “on it” and added that X has “a new method that should wipe out 99% fraud,” addressing concerns around manipulation of engagement-based payouts.
Musk’s post drew enthusiastic reactions from several creators. Independent journalist Nick Shirley, who recently went viral for exposing daycare centre fraud in Minnesota, said such a move would be “amazing,” while noting that X has so far struggled to compete with YouTube AdSense in terms of earnings. “I’ve been telling my friends for months to be posting on X but they haven’t made the effort because their time is better used (monetarily) on other platforms,” he added.
Other users called potential higher payouts a “game changer,” arguing that platforms that reward creators well will attract more authoritative content, especially at a time when large language models increasingly rely on online material.
What did Musk say earlier?
Notably, the latest comments are in line with Musk’s earlier statements that X needs to improve creator compensation to rival YouTube. In October, he had said the platform was underpaying creators and not allocating revenue accurately enough, even acknowledging that YouTube “does a much better job.”
X’s creator monetisation programme, launched after Musk’s acquisition of the platform, currently allows eligible, verified users to earn a share of ad revenue linked to engagement with their posts.
