Elon Musk has long expressed his passion for video games, claiming that they are his “primary recreational activity.” In a statement from November 2023, he shared, “I’m 52 years old, my reflexes aren’t what they used to be, but I’ve been playing video games all my life.” Musk has often said that playing games helps him relax and unwind, explaining that slaying virtual demons brings him a sense of calm: “It calms my mind. Killing the demons in a video game calms the demons in my mind. If you play a tough video game, you can get into a state of flow, which is very enjoyable.”
In November, Musk began sharing even more about his gaming prowess, claiming he was one of the top 20 players in the world in Diablo IV, a newly released action role-playing game. He later boasted about his progress in Path of Exile 2, another popular title.
With his reputation as an empire-building mogul—owning X, leading five other major companies, and even making waves in politics—it wasn’t long before the gaming community took notice. More and more video game streamers and YouTubers began watching Musk’s gameplay and discussing his actions. This attention quickly spilled over from X to platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and Twitch. By January, several viral videos appeared with titles like “Elon Musk is lying about being good at video games.”
The drama reached its peak on Monday when a surprising twist emerged: YouTuber NikoWrex, who has around 3,000 followers on both X and YouTube and considers himself a “friend” of Musk, revealed a private conversation with Musk that was shared with permission. In the conversation, Musk openly admitted to using two forms of cheating to enhance his gaming performance. One method involved having others play on his account to increase his level, while the other entailed paying real money for in-game items that would normally require substantial effort to earn—a practice known as real money trading (RMT).
To help understand the gravity of these cheats, it’s akin to Musk boasting about running 10 kilometers in under 35 minutes, showing his running app’s time as proof, and recording himself sprinting the last 300 meters. However, in reality, the app’s watch would be worn by a professional runner, and Musk would rely on an electric scooter for the rest of the race.
Musk explained to NikoWrex that the reason for his actions was that “everyone does it.” He added, “It’s impossible to beat players, especially from Asia, if you don’t do it, just like they do.” Musk clarified that whenever he posted a video of him playing, it was indeed him playing and not someone else. NikoWrex, who has helped Musk with gaming at times, pointed out that while Musk plays a lot, the high rankings he achieved were likely unattainable without the cheats, given the amount of time he’s actually spent in-game.
Though this kind of cheating in complex games is widespread, it remains an unacceptable practice within the gaming community.
