New Delhi: Elon Musk has sparked yet another social media discussion with his four-word answer on X: Instagram is for girls.
The post was made by Musk on Oct. 1, 2026, in response to venture capital fund Geiger Capital, which claimed it had removed Instagram. In fact, Geiger Capital described the app as an “inherently female” app that provided “zero benefit.” That was the only comment that Musk had to make.
Therefore his saying it is because he agrees with another users’ complaint, and is the direct answer to the why. The claim in the post was not explained nor supported with evidence.
The comment wasn’t an out of the blue one. On May, when discussing selfies, Stories and pictures of food, Musk commented: ‘Lmao. Instagram is for girls’. In another post he joked that when grown men tag him on Instagram, he’s at a loss about whether they were transitioning.
The rivalry between X and Meta, the company that owns Instagram, is another factor behind the jab, some observers note. If people are saying these kinds of things, it means that there’s an opportunity for Musk to push his own platform. Some went even more extreme by one outlet stating that it was an attempt to show some attention for X.
Reactions were split. Some of the users agreed with Musk and others asked if platforms belonged to a specific gender. One person replied that Instagram was a place for everyone and that there was body positivity and other representation. Some of them said so on Instagram and others took the opinion and turned into a joke.
The data actually doesn’t support Musk’s assertion. Instagram’s demographics are quite even, with about 52.5% to 52.7% men and 46.4% to 47.3% women using the app, depending on the source.
But no word from Musk about clarification of his meaning for the criticism. As per May, the comment appears set to disappear into his normal barrage of posts, but it offers a glimpse of the broader “gender and social media” discussions to which he’s willing to bet his reputation.
