Elon Musk bans hashtags from ads on X, calls them 'esthetic nightmare'

Elon Musk, in December 2024, had called hashtags "ugly" and said that the system no longer needs them; now calls them an "aesthetic nightmare" as X bans hashtags from all ads starting June 27

Elon Musk has said that starting Friday (June 27), hashtags will not be allowed in paid ads on X. He called hashtags an “esthetic nightmare” and said this change is meant to make ads on the platform look simpler and less messy. 

Musk shared the update in a post on X, saying, “Starting tomorrow, the esthetic nightmare that is hashtags will be banned from ads on X [sic].” However, regular users can continue to use hashtags in their personal posts. Musk clarified that the change applies only to advertisements.

  Why the change?

Hashtags have long played a key role on social media. They help users discover trends, follow topics, and connect with broader conversations. But under Musk’s leadership, the focus seems to be shifting toward minimalism in design — especially when it comes to advertising. Musk believes that hashtags disrupt the visual appeal of content, and this update aims to create a more streamlined and elegant ad experience for users. 

This is not the first time that Musk has criticised hashtags. Back in December 2024, he expressed his dislike for them in a direct reply to a post. “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly,” Musk had said.

 

Hashtags out, AI in

At the time, he also hinted that traditional hashtags were no longer necessary due to advancements in artificial intelligence. He pointed out that X’s discovery tools — powered by the xAI-built chatbot Grok — could now group topics and trends without relying on hashtags. 

Hashtags were first introduced on Twitter in 2007 as a way to organise discussions and track trending topics. Over time, they became a symbol of social media culture. But with Musk at the helm, X is taking a different direction. The aim now is to create a more visually pleasing and efficient platform — starting with ads.

 

Users react to the update

Many users on X seemed to welcome the change. Some even agreed that hashtags have outlived their usefulness. “Hashtags don’t work I don’t [know] why many people still use it,” wrote one user. 

“Nice move. This should make the timeline more clean. Also start cleaning up the bots! They even do articles now and mass tag people to make them click on spam malicious links,” another suggested. 

“Good idea. Hashtags become redundant after you have a working algorithm… probably get rid of hashtags entirely [sic],” said a third user on X.