- A bizarre scandal is brewing about whether Elon Musk lied about being one of the world's best video game players. Now claims have emerged in which Musk seems to admit he did secretly enlist help.
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, has claimed he holds top scores in competitive gaming during his limited free time.
Musk’s achievements have earned praise from podcasters Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman, and he has frequently shared gaming milestones on his platform, X.
“So many life lessons to be learned from speedrunning video games on max difficulty,” Musk posted in November after completing a level in Diablo IV. “Teaches you to see the matrix, rather than simply exist in the matrix.”
Some speculate Musk’s gaming claims were aimed at boosting engagement on X (which he owns), particularly among Twitch streamers and gaming influencers.
It takes dozens or hundreds of hours of gaming to reach the top levels in the games where Musk claims he is the best, and people are wondering how he did that while also running Tesla, SpaceX, X, the Boring Company, and working for President Trump.
Some serious players are accusing Musk of falsifying his gaming standings. One YouTube analysis of his gaming calls it "the biggest gaming fraud in history."
Did Musk seemingly admit to having help from others?
In a series of direct messages exchanged with another Diablo player, who Musk verifiably follows on X as of today's date, the entrepreneur seemed to reveal he has other people helping him climb the leaderboard table on Path of Exile 2, a title published by Grinding Gear Games.
Niko Wrex asked Musk whether he hired other people to do some of the heavy lifting on his behalf. “It’s impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don’t, as they do!,” Musk replied in a DM. “But when I post a video of a game or am streaming, that’s 100% me.”
Musk has not commented on this exchange from his own account, either to verify or deny it.
But Wrex took viewers through the DMs to show he was not concocting some elaborate scheme to deceive people.
The video now has over 2.3 million views. It has been shared by Asmongold, who has been in direct communication with Musk recently over whether to begin streaming on his X platform.
Asked by Wrex whether it was ever his intention to take full credit for his characters reaching the top of a leaderboard, the reply from the Musk account was clear.
“No,” came the answer. “Never claimed that.”
Musk’s gaming account on X, which he runs under the handle “cyb3rgam3r420,” repeatedly referred to his character and never once implied anyone else was playing.
Making rapid progress with my new @pathofexile character, Kekius Maximus!
— Gamer (@cyb3rgam3r420) December 28, 2024
A name like that is destined for greatness.
“Making rapid progress with my new Path of Exile character, Kekius Maximus!” he posted at the end of last month.
In the DM exchange, Musk went on to claim that other top accounts were run by multiple players as well, although he offered no proof. Typically, top-ranked players stream their runs in their entirety, often for hours on end, to prove their accomplishments.
Musk attempts to laugh the controversy away
Fortune reached out for comment both to Musk as well as Grinding Gear Games, but neither responded at the time of publication.
Quin, the streamer whose accusations earlier this month first launched the controversy, did not mince words in response to the DMs: “Elon Musk is clearly, blatantly cheating."
is @ElonMusk lying about being good at video games? pic.twitter.com/TDGb4vsgXf
— Quin (@quinrex) January 11, 2025
Multiple big-name gamers steeped in the culture previously called him out for lying about his record.
Apart from Asmongold, who challenged Musk to prove his claims, popular streamer Penguinz0 called the scandal a “mask-off moment” for Musk.
So far, the entrepreneur has neither definitively confirmed nor denied the accusation first levied by New Zealand gamer Quin.
Last week, however, the Tesla CEO attempted to laugh off the controversy by joking that he had “Yilong Ma” playing for him, a reference to a well-known Elon Musk impersonator from China.
Musician Grimes rushes to the defense of her children's father
The strange nature took another twist this weekend when not one but two of the women who gave birth to several of his children felt obligated to support Musk on social media.
First, singer Grimes, who has been locked in a custody battle with Musk in the past, on Saturday vouched for him as indeed being the best Diablo player in America. “I did observe these things with my own eyes. There are other witnesses who can verify this,” she posted. However, she agreed that he should be honest about his Path of Exile 2 record.
Then Neuralink’s Shivon Zilis followed with her own fond recollection of Musk’s exploits in Diablo IV from over a year ago.
“He took breaks for family meals and Xmas presents but was too excited for sleep,” she added. Musk thanked them both.
