We have been using Twitter, now X, for expressing ourselves for a couple of years now and ever since then we have been complimenting our thoughts with hashtags. It has now become a habit. But soon you won’t have to use hashtags on X anymore, and this comes straight from Elon Musk. Replying to a Grok reply mocking hashtags, Musk bluntly said, “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore, and they look ugly.”
This straight up indicates that hashtags won’t give us the kind of reach that we expect on X anymore. The algorithm doesn’t really need hashtags to work. Initially hashtags were used to help users engage with trending topics and specific conversations, and now they are being called as a reminder of an older internet era.
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This tweet by Musk is not a standalone statement. It redirects to his broader strategy to refine X’s user experience and algorithms. The company has now placed advanced systems capable of surfacing relevant content without user input. Hence, hashtags have become less functional and more cosmetic. As per some critics, they are a “try-hard” tactic for attention.
If you’re a creator or brand that uses hashtags heavily on X to boost visibility, you might want to stop doing that. According to Musk, X’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to promote content organically, whether it’s breaking news, viral trends, or niche discussions.
Looking at the bigger picture, this isn’t the first time that netizens are mocking hashtags. The post Musk replied to described hashtag-heavy tweets as “a desperate cry into the void,” while Grok’s sarcastic remark likened them to “a screen door on a submarine.”
So now, hashtags won’t give you reach, they’ll only make you look desperate and kill your posts aesthetic. I am not saying it, Elon Musk is saying it. But the question is, will you still use them?