diff --git a/server/text_generation_server/models/__init__.py b/server/text_generation_server/models/__init__.py
index 6ef4f903..a79b7e5b 100644
--- a/server/text_generation_server/models/__init__.py
+++ b/server/text_generation_server/models/__init__.py
@@ -555,7 +555,7 @@ def get_model(
         # TODO: fix how we determine model type for Mamba
         if "ssm_cfg" in config_dict:
             # *only happens in Mamba case
-            model_type = "mamba"
+            model_type = "ssm"
         else:
             raise RuntimeError(
                 f"Could not determine model type for {model_id} revision {revision}"
@@ -624,6 +624,10 @@ def get_model(
             dtype=dtype,
             trust_remote_code=trust_remote_code,
         )
+    elif model_type == "ssm":
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            "`ssm` models have been deprecated in favor of `mamba` models, which follow standard HF formats. Check out a list here: https://huggingface.co/models?search=mamba%20-hf"
+        )
 
     if model_id.startswith("facebook/galactica"):
         return CausalLM(