At the time, Musk defended the decision by claiming that bot spammers and scammers are abusing the free API and that a membership costing about $100 per month with ID verification could clean things up tremendously.Developers and Twitter users who build and utilize bots for a variety of purposes criticized the decision. Some bots, such as Make it a Quote and Color Schemer, are only there for fun, but others, like Pikaso, Remind Me of This Tweet, and Thread Reader, offer helpful features on the website, such as the ability to: read threads in a more arranged format, capture screenshots, and get reminders for specific tweets. Before the deadline of February 9th, many developers declared that they would be shutting down their bots.
Source: Waveform ClipsHowever, charging developers for access to Twitter’s API offers the business yet another chance to make money, something Musk has emphasized since taking the helm. In addition to the $8 per month that Twitter charges individuals to be verified, the company apparently wants to charge brands that want to maintain their gold checkmarks on the network $1,000 per month.
There are still many unanswered questions even if it appears like Musk will permit some amount of free access to Twitter’s API. Uncertainty surrounds the definition of excellent material and the applicability of the policy to bots developed or just the ones that already exist. The future of bots on Twitter is uncertain until Twitter issues a formal statement addressing the move.
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