Elon Musk Says X Will Charge Advertisers By Screen Size To Curb 'Giant Ads' That Hurt User Experience

Elon Musk announced that X will transition to charging advertisers based on vertical screen size, marking a significant shift in the platform’s revenue strategy as the company works to restore advertising income to pre-acquisition levels.

What Happened: The billionaire wrote on X that the platform “is moving to charging for ads based on vertical size, so an ad that takes up the whole screen would cost more than an ad that takes up 1/4 of the screen, otherwise the incentive is to create giant ads that impair the user experience.”

This pricing adjustment comes as X continues its broader transformation into an “everything app” under Musk’s leadership. The platform recently secured money transmitter licenses across 40 states and Washington D.C., positioning itself to compete with financial services companies through its upcoming X Money service.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino has been working alongside Musk to restore advertising revenues to 2022 levels following the platform’s $44 billion acquisition. Emarketer data shows X’s revenue rising to $2.3 billion this year from $1.9 billion previously, though the company faces ongoing challenges with advertiser relations.

Why It Matters: The new ad pricing model addresses user experience concerns while potentially impacting revenue streams. Major brands recently resumed advertising on X following legal pressure from Musk’s antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which accused the coalition of an “illegal boycott.”

Despite a 2% decline in U.S. ad spending on X during early 2025, major advertising agencies, including WPP and Omnicom, have agreed to set annual spending targets with the platform. The advertising changes reflect X’s strategy to balance user experience with revenue generation as it expands beyond social media into comprehensive financial services.

Musk’s xAI recently acquired X in a deal valuing the combined entity at $80 billion, integrating data and talent across both platforms to enhance artificial intelligence capabilities and advertising targeting.

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