On its face, the claim feels improbable: In addition to being the world’s richest man, the chief executive of multiple companies and a key adviser to President Trump, Elon Musk says he is also a world-class video game player.
But last week, the community of gamers he’s long tried to impress turned against him. It started with a livestream of Mr. Musk playing Path of Exile 2, a popular action role-playing game known for its difficulty. Despite his account showing he had earned one of the game’s highest levels, his gameplay looked like that of an amateur. Internet sleuths made YouTube videos and took to Reddit threads to dissect his gameplay, exposing mistakes a novice would make. Other gamers pointed out that Mr. Musk’s Path of Exile account has been active at times he couldn’t have been playing himself, like on Monday morning, while he was at Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
Mr. Musk’s passing off of boosting, or hiring someone to play his accounts for him, was widely seen as a form of “faking it till you make it”, or “gaming” one’s achievements. He has pushed for a high profile in the gaming world for years, and his fans have often praised his gaming skills. But gaming experts have been skeptical, pointing out that it is impossible to play the amount of time required to achieve some of the accomplishments Mr. Musk has claimed, given his busy schedule.
In a rare admission, Mr. Musk revealed that he had indeed boosted his accounts, saying that it was common among top players in games like Diablo. He highlighted the fact that even high-ranking players on his social media platform X have “boosted” their accounts, which has led to many gamers accusing him of being dishonest about his gaming abilities.