Elon Musk Bans Hashtags in X Ads Starting June 27

Elon Musk is once again shaking up X’s playbook. Starting June 27, 2025, hashtags will be banned from all advertisements on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Musk, never one to mince words, called hashtags in ads an “esthetic nightmare” in his announcement, doubling down on his ongoing campaign to streamline X’s look and feel.
 

This move draws a sharp line: while hashtags remain fair game in regular posts, advertisers must scrub them from all paid content. The change is immediate and global, affecting promoted posts and sponsored campaigns alike. Brands and marketers have relied on hashtags since Twitter introduced them in 2007, using them to group conversations, fuel viral trends, and boost engagement. But Musk has long argued that hashtags are outdated and visually disruptive. Back in December 2024, he told users, “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly,” pointing to X’s evolving AI as a smarter alternative.
 

That is GrokAI, the chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI, now at the core of X’s search and discovery tools. According to Musk, Grok can surface topics and organize content without hashtags, making the old tag system obsolete. The result, he claims, is a cleaner, more modern ad experience—one that’s less cluttered and more visually appealing.

The reaction? Mixed. Some users and marketers see the ban as overdue, with one user quipping that “hashtags in ads were the Comic Sans of social media.” Others worry it will limit ad targeting and campaign reach, especially for brands that have built strategies around hashtag-driven engagement.

For now, X’s new ad policy is clear: hashtags are out, and AI-powered discovery is in. Whether this will set a new standard for digital advertising or simply spark another round of debate remains to be seen. As reported by Times Now and Business Today, Musk’s latest move signals a decisive break from social media tradition—and a bet that cleaner, smarter ads will win the day.