Twitter Provides Additional API Access Tier to Address Pricing Concerns

With its recent API access cost increases causing much angst inside the developer community, Twitter has come back with a recent API access tier, which is able to provide more tweet access for a more reasonable price.

As highlighted above, the recent ‘Pro’ tweet API offering provides developers with access to one million tweets per 30 days, on the low, low price of $5k per 30 days – or $60k every year. Which, for some, will likely be an improvement than the prevailing access points, which have already priced many developers and academics out of their various projects. But still, $5k per 30 days for one million tweets is quite a bit – especially when Twitter’s free API access, up till February this 12 months, provided developers with similar access to this, freed from cost.

Twitter’s recent API access charges, which it’s implemented to combat the creation of bot armies, are a big jump on the previous costs, with Elon and Co. also seeking to do all that they’ll to herald more revenue for the corporate.

The updated pricing immediately saw many public service tools, like transport alerts, announce that they’d be canceling their automated Twitter updates – though Twitter has since announced that approved services like these will still have the option to access the API totally free.

But that doesn’t cover many other bot tools and services that also provide value, and the chance in Twitter’s approach is that it could turn into a less helpful utility because of this, which can eventually impact usage.

But as noted, Musk sees the API as a possible vector for bot swarms. And as with Twitter Blue, Elon’s hoping that by tacking on extra charges to such access, that’ll effectively make it cost-prohibitive for bot creators to maintain running their schemes.

Though there’s one other potential consideration in Musk’s API and access price rises, which is more aligned together with his own personal grievances.

Twitter’s also taking over Microsoft over its use of Twitter data, via API access, which it claims is beyond the restrictions imposed inside Microsoft’s approved usage. Microsoft is now partnered with OpenAI, an organization that Elon once had a big investment in, and Musk’s view is that OpenAI has essentially stolen Twitter data to coach its LLM systems, with a view to fuel generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

The transient summary is that Elon gave OpenAI thousands and thousands of dollars to help in its development, then sought to take over as CEO of the corporate in 2018, with a view to hasten its progress. OpenAI rebutted Musk’s offer, which then saw Elon turn his back on it, and pull all of his future funding pledges. But OpenAI had already taken some thousands and thousands from Musk – and now that OpenAI is making big money from its generative AI tools, Elon is outwardly not completely happy that he isn’t going to get a dime of that intake, despite his early involvement.

This may very well be one other consider his decision to hike up the value of Twitter API access, with a view to restrict other firms from taking Twitter’s proprietary data, and profiting off of his content in an analogous way.

Elon’s also constructing his own generative AI model, which will likely be freed from ‘woke bias’, and every little thing considered, it’s not beyond the scope of possibility that Elon’s pushing up the prices of Twitter API access with a view to fend off his various business rivals.

(Note that Twitter can be asking API subscribers to remove any previously downloaded data, or face further legal recourse)

Though the fundamental impetus appears to be Twitter’s must diversify its income, with subscriptions, API access and promoting ideally settling right into a more equal share of the corporate’s revenue pie.

Which seems unlikely to be the top result, but Elon’s trying recent things – and possibly there’s enough potential indicators there to maintain pushing, with a view to maximize Twitter’s opportunities. Or possibly there’s not, and eventually, Twitter could have to walk these changes back. That approach is seemingly a part of what’s made Musk successful, his willingness to try to fail in public, and possibly, it would present potential recent opportunities for the business.

Twitter’s recent API pricing system is now in effect.