Billionaire businessman and owner of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk has announced a significant shift in how advertisements will be priced on the platform.
According to Musk, X will begin charging advertisers based on the vertical size of their ads as compared to engagement-based pricing.
"X is moving to charging for ads based on vertical size,” he posted.
"So an ad that takes up the whole screen would cost more than an ad that takes up 1/4 of the screen, otherwise the incentive is to create giant ads that impair the user experience.”
This move is seen as an aim by the the businesses mogul to improve the platform's user experience by discouraging oversized, intrusive ads that dominate the screen.
Currently, ads on X are typically charged based on impressions, clicks, or engagement, with larger-format ads often enjoying more visibility without necessarily incurring higher costs.
The policy shift comes as major brands resume advertising on X, following legal pressure from Musk’s antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).
Musk has accused the coalition of orchestrating an “illegal boycott” against the platform.
While US ad spending on X declined by 2 per cent in early 2025, leading agencies such as WPP and Omnicom have since agreed to set annual spending targets, signaling cautious optimism about the platform's direction.
These changes are part of X’s broader strategy to balance monetisation with user satisfaction.
This, as the company transitions into a multifaceted platform offering financial services, video content, and AI tools.
In a major development, Musk’s AI startup, xAI, recently acquired X in a deal valuing the merged entity at $80 billion.
The integration brings together vast datasets and top engineering talent, enhancing both artificial intelligence capabilities and ad targeting precision across the platform.
The evolving structure of X reflects Musk’s vision of transforming it from a traditional social media site into an all-in-one “everything app”, blending communication, commerce, payments, and intelligence.
