'Instagram is for girls': Elon Musk reignites feud with Meta; sparks reactions online | Hindustan Times

Elon Musk has reignited his long-running rivalry with Meta and its social-media platforms after posting that “Instagram is for girls” on X, drawing a fresh wave of reactions online.Musk made the remark on October 1 while responding to a post by venture capitalist Geiger Capital, which said it had “officially deleted Instagram” and described the platform as an “inherently female app.” Musk replied simply: “Instagram is for girls.” The post was widely circulated on X, with thousands of users reacting to it. The remark is not the first time Musk has targeted Instagram. In May, he made a similar comment while responding to a viral discussion about social-media habits. Musk wrote, “Instagram is for girls,” before separately mocking men who send him links to their Instagram profiles. His comments prompted criticism and a wider debate over gender stereotypes on social media.Also read: Gypsy Rose Blanchard's brother: Who is Dylan, where is he now? Ken Urker's death puts focus on familyMusk vs Meta: How the feud beganMusk's latest jab comes against the backdrop of a broader rivalry between his X platform and Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg.The competition intensified in July 2023, when Meta launched Threads, a text-based social-media platform developed by the Instagram team. Meta described Threads as a service for sharing text updates and joining public conversations, with users able to sign in using their Instagram accounts.The launch was widely viewed as a direct challenge to X, formerly Twitter, which Musk had acquired the previous year. Reuters reported at the time that Threads was launched as Meta sought to capitalize on turmoil surrounding Musk's ownership of Twitter. The two billionaires even traded online jabs as Threads went live.Threads' close connection to Instagram gave Meta access to the platform's enormous existing user base. Meta has since continued developing Threads independently, adding features including a web version, keyword search, trending topics and interoperability with parts of the 'fediverse'.Also read: US immigration changes in October: What Indian Green Card applicants should know as new fiscal year beginsWhy Instagram remains a target for MuskMusk has repeatedly promoted X as an alternative to Meta's social-media services while criticizing Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.The rivalry has also expanded beyond social media. Musk's xAI and Meta are competing in the artificial-intelligence sector, while Musk has increasingly integrated AI products such as Grok with his broader technology businesses. X itself was acquired by xAI in a $33 billion deal announced in 2025, bringing Musk's social-media and AI operations under the same corporate umbrella.Musk's post sparks online reactionsMusk's latest Instagram remark has meanwhile prompted users to debate the comment's meaning, with some agreeing with him by saying, "X is for the boys."While others criticizing the characterization of Instagram as a platform primarily for women, “I don’t agree. I think Instagram is a welcoming space for all genders, and I generally see much more body positivity, inclusivity and diverse representation there as well!”Another user wrote, “Bro realized that after creating an Insta account for himself.”Earlier coverage of his May comments documented similarly divided reactions online.The latest exchange remains a social-media spat, but it adds another chapter to the years-long Musk-Meta rivalry that began with the battle between X and Threads and has since expanded into the broader competition over social media and artificial intelligence.