Elon Musk announced that his social platform X will move to charging advertisers based on the vertical screen size of their ads, marking a major shift in the platform's revenue strategy.

The billionaire wrote on X that the platform is "moving to charging ads based on vertical size, so an ad that takes up the entire screen will cost more than an ad that takes up a quarter of the screen, or else creates giant ads that hurt the user experience."

The pricing adjustment comes as X continues its transformation into a "one-size-fits-all app" under Musk's leadership. The platform recently received money transmitter licenses in 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 with Musk to restore advertising revenue to 2022 levels following the platform's $44 billion acquisition. X’s revenue has grown to $2.3 billion this year from $1.9 billion previously, according to Emarketer, though the company continues to face challenges in advertising relationships.

The new ad pricing model addresses user experience issues while potentially affecting revenue streams. Brands recently resumed advertising on X amid legal pressure from Musk’s antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

Although U.S. corporate ad spending on X fell 2% at the start of 2025, major ad agencies including WPP and Omnicom have agreed to set annual spending targets with the platform. The changes in advertising reflect X’s strategy to balance user experience and revenue generation as it expands from social media to integrated financial services.