‘It’s impossible to beat players in Asia if you don’t’

Elon Musk has made headlines again, but this time, it’s not for launching rockets or naming his next child after a cryptic formula. Instead, he’s admitted to something many gamers suspected all along—he’s been relying on account sharing and real money trading (RMT) to climb the ranks in Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4.

The confession came after a series of odd moments during a livestream where Musk showcased his so-called gaming prowess. YouTuber Quin69TV broke down the fiasco, highlighting some head-scratching moments. At one point, Musk struggled with the Endgame map—a feature any seasoned player would be familiar with—and made the baffling comment, “My staff is only level 62,” when, in reality, it was one of the best in the game. Spoiler alert: it’s not the staff that’s low-level here.

Musk’s Path of Exile 2 adventures quickly fell under scrutiny. Hardcore mode, where one death means permanent deletion, is no joke, yet Musk’s leaderboard characters seemed a little too good to be true. Despite Musk boasting about multiple high-ranking characters like Percy_Verence and Kekius Maximus, a Reddit detective pointed out that his gameplay knowledge was… let’s just say “limited.” For example:

• He didn’t realize you can only run connected Atlas nodes despite supposedly running hundreds of maps.
• He struggled to use a mana flask, waiting a painful 10+ seconds before figuring it out.
• His inventory management involved dragging and dropping items manually—which isn’t exactly speedrunning material.

Oh, and his stash tab for maps was labeled “Elon’s Map,” as if his account was being managed by someone else. That’s not even the juiciest part. Players whispered his account to trade items, only to allegedly receive automated responses in Chinese. Coincidence? The sleuths think not.

For a man who bragged on X (Twitter) that PoE 2 is too easy, he doesn’t seem to understand some of the basics of the game.

Musk finally addressed the drama in a private conversation with YouTuber NikoWrex, who shared screenshots of their DMs. When asked point-blank if he had ever level-boosted or purchased gear, Musk admitted it with a resounding 100 emoji.

“It’s impossible to beat players in Asia if you don’t [account share],” Musk explained, trying to justify his methods.

Musk clarified that that was all him whenever he was streaming and added that he “never claimed” he leveled his character. Still, the confession won’t stop the internet from roasting him harder than his infamous Cybertruck window fail.

This wasn’t Musk’s first gaming controversy, either. He previously bragged about being one of the top 20 Diablo 4 players, only for it to be revealed that his character was turbo-boosted by other, far more skilled players. Twitch streamer Asmongold even got into a public spat with Musk over the issue, prompting Musk to leak their private DMs.

For anyone wondering if Musk’s leaderboard reign has come to an end, the answer is sort of. A quick search for his remaining PoE 2 Hardcore leaderboard character, Fatalismftw, shows it hanging on at #102. Meanwhile, three of his other characters have taken the ultimate L—death.

So, while Musk might still have some skin in the game, it’s clear that his legendary status in Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4 comes with a hefty dose of asterisks.