Say goodbye to hashtags in X ads: “They are an esthetic nightmare,” according to Elon Musk

Hashtags in Twitter (X) advertisements are no longer allowed. This was officially announced by Elon on his personal account on the platform:

Starting tomorrow, the esthetic nightmare that is hashtags will be banned from ads on

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 26, 2025

Why hashtags are being removed from advertisements on X

In truth, this is not the first occasion on which the CEO of Twitter has implemented a change that surprises users, nor was it the first time he criticized the use of hashtags in advertising content.

These tags are intended to increase engagement and attract more views to posts. Ultimately, if you include a trending hashtag in one of your posts and people use the search function to locate others discussing that topic, it becomes easier for you to be found. Therefore, it is not yet clear how this alteration will impact advertisers.

At the end of last year, a user asked Grok, X’s artificial intelligence, whether hashtags should be used on X. The AI replied, “Please, do not use hashtags on X. They have become as useful as a screen door on a submarine.” Musk reaffirmed this stance by quoting the tweet and stating: “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly.”

Indeed, I sometimes think that Elon Musk spends all day behind a computer responding to every question posed to Grok.

So, it could be said that we are saying farewell to hashtags in advertising simply because they are… unattractive? We shall have to wait to determine whether this change will be extended to other posts, but for now, #wecontinue.