As reported earlier on Musk’s planned “big shift for creators on X,” Musk publicly backed a proposal to “crank creator payouts way way way way up,” even hinting that X could pay more than YouTube for the right creators.

At the time, I wrote that his reply to an X user, “Ok, let’s do it,” with a tag to X Head of Product Nikita Bier and a warning to “rigorously enforce no gaming of the system,” felt like a line in the sand for how serious X was about paying people who keep its feeds alive. 

Now, early 2026 payout reports suggest that X is starting to follow through. A recent roundup of creator posts notes that many users have seen their revenue‑share payouts double or triple versus previous cycles, even when their impressions are flat or slightly lower, which lines up exactly with the timing of Musk’s late‑December directive.

As someone who covers the platform and uses it every day, I see this as the first concrete test of whether Musk’s promise is a marketing line or the start of a true re‑pricing of creator labor on X.

What creators are seeing in their X payout dashboards

Across X and other social channels, creators have begun posting screenshots and testimonials about sharply higher payouts tied to the most recent revenue‑share distribution.

Analyzing the screenshots and reports, it’s evident that creators are seeing two to three times their previous checks, with some describing the new numbers as “the first time X feels like a real income stream” instead of pocket change.

The increases appear closely linked to X’s push to prioritize “genuine engagement from verified Premium subscribers” and to tune out spammy or bot‑driven impressions, which means each high‑quality view is suddenly worth more.

Related: Musk signals big shift for creators on X

At the same time, my earlier caution still applies: Headline payouts can badly distort expectations if you are not a top‑tier account.

When MrBeast uploaded his “$1 vs $100,000,000 Car!” video directly to X in early 2024 as an experiment, NBC reported, he later revealed roughly 156 million impressions and about $263,655 in ad revenue.

He also called that number “a bit of a facade” because advertisers piled onto the viral moment with extra buys.

For mid‑tier creators who rely on predictable RPMs, the early 2026 payout spike is encouraging, but it is not yet proof that X can match YouTube’s mature, view‑based system month after month.

What analysts and big creators say about X’s revenue‑share payments

On X and in follow‑up coverage, YouTube star MrBeast has become an informal reality check on Musk’s ambitions.

MrBeast responded directly to the viral WatcherGuru post that kicked off the latest news cycle. “Competing with YouTube revenue gonna be pretty hard, they’re the best platform to ever exist at this. I’ve done 9 figures in ad revenue on just one channel for example,” he wrote.

Analysts and big creators have a lot to sayabout X’s new content creator payment structure.

Shutterstock

The quote has been widely interpreted as a cold shower on the idea that X can flip a switch and outpay YouTube overnight.

From my perspective, that single line captures the structural challenge better than any earnings call: YouTube has years of optimization, high‑fill ad inventory, and TV‑style viewing habits that X simply does not have yet.

More Streaming:

  • Paramount Warner Bros. hostile bid has a catch for cable networks
  • Apple TV adds key feature Netflix dropped
  • Facebook makes daring move to challenge Disney, Netflix
  • Box office is booming in 2025 but Netflix’s $82.7 billion surprise raises alarms

Other voices are more cautiously optimistic.

In coverage compiled by NewsX, independent journalist Nick Shirley called Musk’s pledge “amazing,” adding that while “X so far hasn’t been able to compete with YouTube Adsense,” he sees it as “a much more effective platform for videos to be shared and seen by the masses without censorship.” 

How the X payout structure is shifting under Musk

In my earlier article, I laid out how X’s monetization stack already combines ad‑revenue sharing based on engagement from verified users with subscriptions, tips, and limited pre‑roll deals for a small slice of major accounts. 

TechCrunch and other tech outlets reported that earlier tweaks pushed the formula deeper into raw engagement, which encouraged high‑volume replies and sometimes toxic discourse, because more replies meant more money. 

When Musk tells Bier to increase payouts while “rigorously” preventing system gaming, he is effectively admitting that the first version of the program incentivized engagement hacks rather than high‑quality posts. 

As highlighted in the previous report, this new phase has three overlapping goals:

  • Pay select creators more per impression or per view, approaching or, in some cases, exceeding YouTube‑level payouts.
  • Tighten enforcement against bots, fake engagement and low‑quality spam that have historically siphoned off ad money.
  • Use higher payouts as leverage to attract exclusive or first‑window content that makes X a true video destination, instead of just a repost hub.

What the X payout change means for creators right now

For working creators, the immediate question is whether it makes financial sense to move toward X in 2026.

On the one hand, early payout jumps and Musk’s willingness to publicly commit to higher checks (with anti‑fraud strings attached) suggest that X is serious about competing for attention and uploads, not just recycling YouTube links. 

On the other hand, the gap between blockbuster payouts for stars like MrBeast and the much smaller numbers that everyday users report remains wide, and experts keep warning that any system that over‑rewards raw engagement can backfire into low‑quality, polarizing content if enforcement tools do not keep up.

From where I sit, X increasing creator payouts is a genuinely important development, but it is not yet a settled business model.

Until creators consistently report that their X dashboards match or beat what they see on YouTube and TikTok, Musk’s “Ok, let’s do it” will read more like an aggressive opening bid in the creator‑economy arms race than a completed shift in how social platforms pay the people who power them.

Related: YouTube TV cuts price to woo new users in limited Verizon deal