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- US Twitter subscribers made up less than 0.2% of monthly users in January, per The Information.
- This was two months after Elon Musk launched Twitter Blue, the platform’s $8 blue tick feature.
- The publication cited documentation that implied Twitter has 290,000 global subscribers.
Twitter subscribers in the US made up less than 0.2% of monthly users in January, two months after Elon Musk introduced Blue, The Information reported Monday, citing a document.
This means that as of the middle of January, about 180,000 Twitter users in the US were paying for subscriptions to the platform, such as the $8 Blue feature, per the document, reported by The Information.
The 180,000 Twitter subscribers in the US made up 62% of the platform’s global subscriber count, indicating there were 290,000 subscribers around the world, per the report.
Musk said he wants Twitter to generate $3 billion in revenue this year. Per the document, the total number of global subscribers would contribute $28 million in annual revenue, or less than 1% of the $3 billion figure, The Information reported.
Two people with knowledge of the matter told The Information that revenue from Blue was making less than $4 million annually before Musk acquired Twitter. The resulting revenue that the global subscriber count suggests is therefore much higher than before the takeover.
In an attempt to make more revenue, Twitter is set to make businesses pay $1,000 per month to keep their gold verification checkmark.
Twitter didn’t immediately reply to Insider’s request for comment made outside of normal US operating hours.
After buying Twitter for $44 billion in late October, Musk has cut costs across the company by laying off thousands of staff, refusing to pay certain bills, and pulling some employee perks such as food and health benefits.
Amid the chaos, Musk revamped Blue, Twitter’s blue tick verification feature but the rollout came with various complications, including people impersonating notable accounts.
Musk on Sunday said Twitter was now “trending to breakeven,” but added the company was “definitely not financially healthy yet” and a lot of work was needed to reach that point.
