Elon Musk’s self-proclaimed video game skills have taken a hit after a humiliating community note on X (formerly Twitter) exposed him for allegedly “cheating” in popular games Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2.
Musk, who recently admitted that X is “barely breaking even” in a memo to staff, faced backlash after boasting about his character’s third-place ranking in Path of Exile 2 under the username ‘Fatalism ftw’. Gaming experts and fans quickly pointed out that such an achievement would be impossible for someone as busy as Musk—unless, of course, he paid someone to play for him.
The controversy erupted on Sunday night when Musk reposted a leaderboard highlighting his top-three ranking. However, a community note attached to his post called out the Tesla CEO, stating:
“While the account has reached rank 3, this is not Elon Musk’s accomplishment. He has admitted to paying somebody else to play the account for him. The account was actively playing the game while Elon was attending Trump’s inauguration.”
The timeline mismatch proved damning, as Musk was famously seated in the front row of Donald Trump’s inauguration while his game character was actively progressing.
Outrage quickly spread across social media. One user tweeted, “You literally paid and boosted and cheated to have this character and still brag about it? This is ridiculous lol.” Another added, “Diablo was an easy game, and no one cared that you cheated. PoE2 is much more difficult, so your boosting has not gone unnoticed.”
Others criticized Musk’s tendency to take credit for others’ work, with one commenter saying, “I mean, it would be better if you did it on your own, but just like everything else, you pay others to do the hard work and then claim it as your own.”
While Musk has yet to respond to the allegations, the incident has sparked heated debates about authenticity and integrity in gaming, especially for high-profile players. For now, it seems Musk’s gaming reputation has taken a significant hit, and the community isn’t letting it slide.