TweetDeck, renamed X Pro, now charges $84 for a yearly subscription

Late last month, Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to ‘X’ to reflect his vision of what he described as an “everything app.” Now Musk is extending this rebranding to other products that fall under the ‘X’ umbrella.

Then on August 1, X renamed TweetDeck to X Pro. TweetDeck was a platform acquired by Twitter in 2011 to allow users to view and customize multiple feeds that update in real-time. The change comes as “tweet” was renamed to “post” last week, with the equally iconic “RT” (retweet) becoming “repost” in the process. Fast forward two weeks later, X comes out with a big surprise for X Pro iser.

On Wednesday morning, several X Pro users, ranging from marketers and journalists to news enthusiasts, encountered an unwelcome sight: a paywall they had been apprehensive about. X, previously recognized as Twitter, started charging users for access to TweetDeck.

Historically, the service has been freely accessible, but in a July announcement, X revealed its shift to a subscriber-only model. Starting this Wednesday, users seeking X Pro access will need to subscribe to X Premium, an offering introduced by site owner Elon Musk to boost company revenue. The subscription carries a yearly cost of $84.

Subscribers to X Premium will enjoy perks like a blue checkmark on their accounts, priority rankings in replies and searches, extended post lengths, reduced ads, and more. The service, previously known as Twitter Blue, encountered a rough start in November with account impersonation issues, leading to its temporary removal. Although it relaunched in December, problems with impersonation persisted.

Musk, who acquired the platform for a whopping $44 billion a year ago, first hinted at a gradual departure from the association with birds in a post on Sunday that the company would soon “bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” Musk’s influence was immediately felt, as he implemented significant layoffs and introduced major platform changes and policy updates.

Recently, the company embarked on a comprehensive rebrand, announced by Musk in July. The iconic blue and white bird logo of Twitter was retired, giving rise to the new identity, X. Renaming of Twitter services, including TweetDeck, quickly followed suit.

The company said in July that the transition to X reflects Musk’s vision of transforming the platform into what he refers to as an “everything app.” The change is set to reshape the platform and potentially expand its functionality beyond its traditional social media roots.