Elon Musk has announced that starting June 27, 2025, hashtags will no longer be allowed in paid advertisements on X (formerly known as Twitter). He described hashtags as an ‘esthetic nightmare’ and said this change is meant to make ads look cleaner and less cluttered. Importantly, the update applies only to sponsored posts, while regular users can continue using hashtags in their personal posts as usual.
According to Musk, he is trying to make the platform look cleaner and easier to use. He wants the posts and ads that people see to have a simpler design. At the same time, the billionaire is also trying to improve how the platform chooses which content to show to each user. Instead of depending on user-generated tags, the social media platform is now focusing more on artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithm-based systems to help users discover content. Even the ban on hashtags in ads is one step in that larger plan to simplify both the look of content and how it is recommended to users.
Musk’s dislike of hashtags is not new. In late 2024, he had already criticized them as being ‘ugly’ and suggested that they were no longer necessary. He believes that with improved content discovery tools on X (particularly those powered by AI), hashtags no longer serve the same purpose they once did.
However, in the meantime, X’s built-in AI assistant – Grok – encouraged regular users to continue using hashtags for organic engagement. Grok noted that hashtags remain useful in non-sponsored posts for increasing visibility, building community connections, and aligning with trending topics. But it also advised moderation, suggesting that using one or two hashtags per post is ideal for maintaining quality while still tapping into audience trends.
“While Elon Musk has criticized hashtags, data supports their effectiveness for regular posts,” the AI assistant said while responding to a user’s query.
Meanwhile, the reaction to this latest change from advertisers has been mixed. Some agree with Musk’s vision and welcome the cleaner aesthetic. But others are concerned about losing a valuable tool for promoting campaigns. Hashtags have long been used in marketing to join trending conversations, track performance, and boost visibility. Without them, advertisers may need to rely more heavily on X’s AI and targeting tools, which some feel may not offer the same control or reach.
The move comes at a time when Musk is intensifying efforts to turn X into a ‘super app’, a single platform that integrates social media, digital payments, shopping, video content, messaging, and more. Recent reports also suggest that X is planning to introduce a physical debit card as part of its expanding ‘X Money’ services.
