Elon Musk admitted he cheated at video games to get high scores, a transcript of a private online conversation he had shows, apparently concluding a fiery scandal over the billionaire’s outlandish claims of being a globally ranked gamer.
Musk has regularly boasted about his gaming rankings. He he told podcaster Joe Rogan last year who was among the top 20 players in the world in the devilishly difficult action role-playing game Diablo IV.
His claims have raised questions about how the world’s richest man could find time to compete internationally. He would have had to play hundreds of hours between managing companies such as Tesla Inc, X and SpaceX, as well as his growing political activity alongside Donald Trump.
Two games in which Musk claims to have high scores, Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2, are notoriously difficult to compete with. Some players spend most of their waking hours “working” in dungeons and fighting monsters and other fantastical creatures to create their virtual characters. more powerful.
An answer to Musk’s unlikely gaming prowess was provided in a video posted on youtube on Sunday by top Diablo player NikoWrex, who showed what he said was a direct message conversation with Musk on X.
In the conversation, Musk admits to “account boosting,” a cheating practice in which people get other players to upgrade their characters. This is usually done by paying them to play for hours.
“Have you leveled up (has someone else played your accounts) and/or purchased gear/resources for PoE2 (Path of Exile 2) and Diablo 4?” NikoWrex asked. Musk responded with a 100% emoji. He later added: “It’s impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don’t do it, like they do!”
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The Guardian could not independently verify the transcript, but Musk he reposted the video on his X account and there was previously interacted with NikoWrex in X in early January to discuss Path of Exile 2. In his video, NikoWrex, whose instagram account He says his name is Nick Hayes, he showed that Musk follows him in X.
He said in the video that Musk had allowed him to publish their conversation. The Guardian has contacted Musk through X for comment.
The buzz over Musk’s supposed gaming prowess exploded after his comments on Rogan’s podcast in November, and further scrutiny came earlier this year when he livestreamed his Path of Exile 2 character on X.
High-level players with deep knowledge of the game, Musk said. made rookie mistakes that no expert would do, including walking past valuable items that would help their character.
After coming under fire, Musk began to publicly fight the allegations, arguing with featured players. At the end of the conversation with NikoWrex, Musk claimed to be “a living god of video games.”
Canadian musician Grimes, who has three children with Musk from a previous relationship, tweeted in his defense on Saturday, saying he had seen with his own eyes how he was one of the best Diablo players in the U.S. “There are other witnesses who can verify this,” he said.
On Monday, more accusations of cheating were leveled when Musk’s Path of Exile 2 character was seen as active in the game while Musk was in Washington attending Trump’s inauguration.