Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is suspected of lying about his ability to play video games. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesElon Musk is surrounded by almost constant controversy, but the latest scandal to rock the world’s richest man is surely the silliest—Musk is being accused of pretending to be good at video games.
Musk is viewed by many of his fans as possessing almost superhuman time management skills, able to balance the duties of fatherhood while running multiple massive corporations, post frantically on X, and not just play video games, but excel at them.
However, it’s always been just a bit suspicious that the world’s richest man (who is, by all accounts, a dedicated workaholic), has enough time in the day to be a skilled gamer.
It’s certainly plausible that the serial entrepreneur plays video games after work to wind down, but excelling at them often requires a serious time commitment.
Elon Musk Is A Suspiciously Good Gamer
During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk boasted that he was one of the top-ranked Diablo IV players in the world.
Shockingly, this turned out to be true (at least, at the time), but really, it shouldn’t have been possible—presumably, Musk doesn’t have enough spare hours in the day.
Recently, Musk attracted the suspicions of gamers again after revealing himself to be a top player of Path of Exile 2, with his high-level characters equipped with extremely powerful gear, indicating that a significant amount of hours had been pumped into his account.
Rather foolishly, Musk livestreamed himself playing the game, and gamers instantly clocked him as an inept player.
A detailed Reddit thread laying out the evidence against Musk makes it clear that he wasn’t familiar with basic gameplay mechanics of Path of Exile 2, and couldn’t possibly have leveled up his own characters by himself.
Gamers noted that Musk’s equipment was even better than Twitch streamers who play the game full-time for a living—the world’s richest man appears to have hired players to strengthen his characters.
On social media, commentators expressed bafflement that Musk would do this; video games, after all, are a time-consuming hobby, a habit that many view as a guilty pleasure, rather than an accomplishment.
Elon Musk Is Bad At Playing ‘Elden Ring’
This isn’t the first time that Musk has appeared to feign interest in popular media.
After the release of Elden Ring, a famously difficult bestseller, Musk posted a screenshot of his character, but his build instantly exposed him as a poser.
Musk’s character was at a fairly high level, but he had equipped items that made no sense for a magic user, or indeed, any Elden Ring player—he didn’t even equip his healing flask, a standard item acquired at the beginning of the game.
Elden Ring requires the player to make very careful and deliberate decisions about which attributes to upgrade, or armor to wear, as a single heavy piece will cause a player to slow down during a crucial moment in battle.
Amusingly, Musk’s character held two shields, a ridiculous burden that offers no tactical advantage whatsoever—this is the kind of game where a slightly heavier helmet can make a serious difference.
Needless to say, Musk’s Elden Ring build was mercilessly mocked on social media.
Musk’s questionable pop culture knowledge, however, stretches far beyond video games.
Elon Musk Is A ‘Blade Runner’ And Anime Fan
Musk claims he has been heavily inspired by science fiction, and perhaps he has, but he often slips up when referencing iconic works of the genre, indicating that he isn’t quite as plugged in to pop culture as he makes out.
On X, Musk described Tesla’s Cybertruck as “an armored personnel carrier from the future – what Bladerunner would have driven.”
The fact that there is no character named “Bladerunner” in Blade Runner didn’t seem to faze Musk in the slightest.
When asked by a fan if he watches the popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, Musk responded simply by parroting a name from the series, ”NERV,” which is the organization that fights otherworldly invaders.
I’m not saying that Musk has never watched Evangelion, but his reply was a bit odd, like responding to a question about liking Star Trek by blurting out, “Federation.”
Indeed, it would be perfectly reasonable if Musk had never watched, read or played much when it comes to the staples of science fiction—the man has a lot of responsibilities.
Having the time to ingest an unhealthy amount of media is hardly something to brag about—managing SpaceX is surely a bigger accomplishment then being really good at video games.
No doubt, Musk has more important things to do with his time than wandering the wastes of Elden Ring, two shields in hand.
Why pretend otherwise?
