Elon Musk is battling critics on the internet, again. This time, it’s the video game community.
The tech titan has in recent days taken time away from his roles as SpaceX CEO and adviser to President-elect Donald Trump to call out some of the gaming world’s niche content creators, firing back at accusations that he is not quite the gamer he purports to be.
The allegations amount to a sort of stolen valor for video games and center on some recent livestreams in which Musk played Path of Exile 2, a popular online role-playing game in which players select from a number of characters to end corruption spreading through the fictional world of Wraeclast. When playing on hardcore mode, as Musk does, when a character dies, its death is permanent. As gamers play, their characters level up, increasing in power and capability.
But many gamers have pointed out what they say is a crucial discrepancy. Two of Musk’s characters were particularly powerful — among the top 100 most powerful in the world — when they were “alive” (two characters tied to Musk have since “died” and are now ranked in the 30s and 200s, respectively). The levels of Musk’s now-deceased characters would require dozens if not hundreds of hours of gameplay, depending on the gamer, to achieve. His skills, however, appear to be lacking, according to some gamers.
“I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk — but this is embarrassing and very silly,” Zack Hoyt, who is known as Asmongold to his 3.29 million subscribers on YouTube, said in a video posted Sunday. “It makes him look bad and it’s for absolutely no reason. It’s of no consequence and it achieves no goal.”
Criticism toward the X CEO — who has for years described himself as an avid gamer — began gaining traction online after he livestreamed himself playing Path of Exile 2 on Jan. 7. Days later, in the Reddit community for the game, some accused Musk of having someone “boost” his account, or play for him. Others suggested he’s playing using a more skilled player’s account.
The accusations surrounding Musk’s gaming skills gained momentum after Hoyt and several prominent gaming creators began weighing in, posting YouTube videos that have garnered millions of views and circulated across other platforms, including X. They cited what they described as examples of Musk showcasing he’s not the elite player that he claims to be, including bypassing valuable in-game materials that players almost always pick up.
Musk spent the early morning hours of Thursday defending himself against the claims and hurling insults at Hoyt, saying that he is good at “caustic commentary” but not good at video games.
Hoyt later shared that he had been unfollowed by Musk and his blue check mark on X had been removed (his blue check mark has since returned).
Musk did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The online gaming community is big, featuring a nonstop hum of message boards and chat rooms as well as hundreds of individual creators who make thousands of videos dissecting the many complicated and time-consuming games that have grown in popularity while also discussing community drama and intrigue.
The community’s culture also features a somewhat informal code of ethics: Heightened respect is given to players who put in the time to become good at a game and develop their character, but those plaudits are earned, not bought. High-profile gamers are welcome — but they’re also scrutinized, especially when they make grand claims.
And Musk has been the subject of the gaming community’s scrutiny for a while. In 2022, some in the online gaming community noted that the way Musk, who often spoke of how much he played and enjoyed the game Elden Ring, had designed his character with redundancies an expert gamer wouldn’t make, such as carrying two heavy swords and two heavy shields that would slow down his magic-casting character.
Some of Musk’s previous gaming boasts are also getting a fresh look. YouTuber and video game content creator Charlie Christopher White Jr., noted on Jan. 11 that Musk made an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in November of last year, in which he claimed to be among the top 20 players in the world for Diablo IV, another ARPG like Path of Exile 2.
“If you’re really good at Diablo, you should, at least, be pretty good at Path of Exile. And he’s just not,” White said in a video that’s been viewed more than 4.6 million times.
Others have wondered how Musk is able to fulfill his duties as at SpaceX, and X, while also preparing for his role in the incoming Trump administration, where he will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, if he is also gaming for many hours a day.
In a recent post to X, Musk said that video games were a tool he used to calm himself outside of taking care of things like his businesses and his children.
“I do play video games as my one recreational activity to quiet my mind. Some days are real tough, so playing video games is my strange solace,” he said in the post.
Some have suggested that despite his questionable skills while streaming, Musk may actually be the one playing for hours on end to level up his character, shirking other responsibilities. That theory aligns with a story Musk told Rogan in the November podcast episode.
“In my final semester in college, I probably put more time into Quake than all of my college classes,” Musk told Rogan, while adding that for a time Musk was one of the best Quake players in the world. It’s unclear what Musk’s rank was in Quake.
