Elon Musk has suggested that all users of X, formerly Twitter, may have to pay to access the platform.
In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the billionaire said a payment system is the only way to deal with robots.
“We’re moving towards having a small monthly payment for using the system,” the Tesla and SpaceX boss said.
The BBC has approached X for more details but has yet to receive a statement from the company.
It’s not clear if this was just a comment or a sign of more solid plans that have yet to be announced.
Mr Musk has long said his solution to ridding the social media platform of bots and fake accounts is charging for verification.
Since taking over Twitter last year, he has tried to incentivize users to pay for an improved service, now called X Premium.
This was done by giving paid subscribers more features such as longer posts and increased visibility on the platform.
However, users can still use X for free.
While there is a clear financial interest for the company to charge users, Mr Musk insisted that forcing people to pay for the service is aimed at countering bots.
“A bot costs a fraction of a penny” to make, he said. “But if someone has to pay a few dollars or something, some small amount, the actual cost for bots is very high.”
X Premium currently costs $8 (£6.50) per month in the US. The price varies depending on the country in which a subscriber is located.
The world’s richest man said he was now looking for cheaper options for users.
“We’re actually going to end up with a lower tier of pricing. So we just want it to be a small amount of money,” he said.
“That’s a longer discussion, but in my view, that’s really the only defense against massive robot armies,” Musk added.
However, one risk is that putting X behind a paywall may lose a large portion of its users. That in turn could reduce advertising revenue, which currently accounts for the vast majority of the company’s revenue.
Mr. Musk’s conversation with the Israeli prime minister also touched on anti-Semitism at X.
The platform has been accused by campaign group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of not doing enough to stop anti-Semitic content.
In a statement, the organization said Musk “engages and exalts” anti-Semitism.
Earlier this month, he said the company would sue ADL to “clear the name of our platform.”
In the conversation with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Musk reiterated that he is “against anti-Semitism”.
Mr Netanyahu acknowledged that balancing free speech and content moderation was a challenge, but urged Mr Musk to strike the right balance.
“I hope you find within the bounds of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only anti-Semitism … but any collective hatred of people that anti-Semitism represents,” he said.
“I know you are committed to this,” Mr Netanyahu added.