According to the billionaire, the only way to combat bots is through a payment system.

Using the system will require a small monthly payment, Tesla and SpaceX’s boss said.

X has not yet responded to the request for further details.

Whether this was just an off-the-cuff comment or a sign of upcoming plans is unclear.

Musk has long said that charging for verification is the only way to get rid of bots and fake accounts on the social media platform.

In the past year, he has tried to encourage users to pay for an enhanced service called X Premium.

We’ve done this by giving paid subscribers more features like longer posts and increased visibility.

In spite of this, users can still use X for free at the moment.

Mr Musk insisted that getting people to pay for the service is aimed at tackling bots, despite the fact that it’s clearly in the company’s financial interest to charge users.

“Bots cost a fraction of a penny to make,” he said. Even if somebody has to pay a few dollars, some minor amount, the effective cost to bots is very high.”

In the US, X Premium costs $8 (£6.50) a month. Depending on the country, subscribers pay different prices.

Currently, the world’s richest person is looking at cheaper options.

We are actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing. So we just want to charge a small amount,” he said.

According to Musk, this is the only defense against vast armies of bots.