The uproar -- tinged with hilarity -- left the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX battling the humiliating accusation that he was faking it as a skilled gamer.
It erupted after Musk streamed himself last week playing "Path of Exile 2," boasting of having one of the highest-ranked characters and inviting scrutiny from seasoned gamers.
Many noted that Musk made rookie mistakes and was unfamiliar with basic game mechanics that he should have been familiar with given the advanced level of his avatar in the game.
Suspicions swirled that the world's richest man had hired help, inviting brutal comments that demolished his elite gamer persona.
"This sounds like a middle-schooler giving a book report on a book they've never read," said one comment under a YouTube video of Musk's gameplay.
A popular Twitch streamer called Asmongold took the criticism a step further, challenging Musk to prove that he had reached that level himself.
The rebuke did not go down well.
The billionaire unfollowed Asmongold on X, and soon the streamer lost his blue checkmark. The platform, previously known as Twitter, was purchased by Musk in 2022 for $44 billion.
The spat did not end there. Musk shared private direct messages he had exchanged with Asmongold, which insinuated that the streamer's opinions were not his own.
"Asmon behaves like a maverick 'independent,'" Musk wrote in a post.
"But in reality has to ask his boss for permission before he can do anything. He is not his own man."
Provoking titters online, Musk's post was attached with a Community Note -- a crowd-sourced tool to debunk false information -- which noted that Asmongold does not have "bosses."
The public spat led to an avalanche of comments that labelled Musk a "man-child" and lampooned his "fragile ego," while many previous fans added that the billionaire had lost their trust.
- 'Killing the demons' -
The brouhaha punctures Musk's carefully cultivated persona as something of a superhuman with extraordinary time management skills: running multiple corporations, posting breathlessly on X and excelling at video games -- all while being a father to several children.
The billionaire is also an an advisor to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump and has been tapped to run the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with reducing government spending.
"Path of Exile 2" is considered a challenging game that expert players say requires a serious time commitment to reach the advanced level of Musk's character -- something he likely lacks.
The tycoon has frequently shared his gaming experiences on social media, claiming to be one of the top players in various online games.
He has said the activity forces him to "concentrate" and "killing the demons in a video game calms the demons" in his mind.
The uproar has led users to question Musk's other purported accomplishments, such as his claim that he was among the top 20 players of role-playing video game "Diablo IV."
"As a gamer, you have a lot of pride in your rank/level. Trying to fake that while also being the richest guy in the world is just so absurdly unnecessary," wrote one user on X.
"I would say it also makes me wonder, if he is willing to lie about this, what else is he willing to lie about."
bur-ac/aha
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