Instagram is for girls – Elon Musk again

Elon Musk has again sparked debate over Instagram after describing the Meta-owned platform as being mainly for girls.

The billionaire made the remark on October 1, 2026, while reacting to a post by Geiger Capital, a venture capital firm that announced it had deleted its Instagram account.

Geiger Capital described Instagram as an inherently female-oriented app and said it saw little benefit in maintaining an account on the platform.

Musk responded by agreeing with the firm’s characterization, saying Instagram was essentially a platform for girls.

His response triggered fresh reactions on X, with users debating whether social media platforms should be associated with a particular gender.

The comment was not Musk’s first such remark about Instagram. On May 15, he similarly described the platform as being for girls while discussing how some men share their Instagram profiles with him.

He also questioned why grown men would send him their Instagram profiles, making a reference to gender transition that drew criticism from some users.

Some social media users accused Musk of promoting gender stereotypes and making offensive remarks about men who use Instagram. Others defended his comments or treated them as a joke.

His latest post, however, focused solely on Instagram’s gender association and did not repeat his earlier reference to gender transition.

Musk has frequently promoted X, the social media platform he owns, while publicly criticizing rival platforms operated by Meta.

His rivalry with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also played out publicly, particularly over their competing social media businesses.

The latest exchange has renewed discussion about gender and social media use, as Instagram has a broad user base that includes people of different genders.

Musk did not provide evidence or further explanation for his October 1 characterization of Instagram.