Elon Musk acknowledges hiring individuals to play video games on his behalf
According to one of Elon Musk’s gaming buddies, the controversy surrounding the use of boosted characters in Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2 is nothing more than a big misunderstanding. In a DM exchange on X, Musk told streamer NikoWrex that he had actually paid others to play video games for him. Musk mentioned that everyone at the highest levels does it, so it’s fine.
While preparing to become Donald Trump’s right-hand man, the world’s richest man was engaging in online discussions about video games. Earlier this year, Musk live-streamed his character in Path of Exile 2 on X. It was quite unusual.
According to high-level players knowledgeable about the game, it seemed that Musk knew what he was doing. His account showed signs that he had paid someone. Gamers criticized him, and Musk publicly defended himself. At one point, Grimes, mother of three of his children, also got involved.
### Everything was clarified
A few days ago, NikoWrex posted a video on YouTube saying that everything had been clarified. Musk did not answer questions about his gaming habits, but apparently, he does respond to direct messages from another player on X. With Musk’s permission, NikoWrex posted the transcript of a conversation he had with the billionaire on X, where he asked about the controversy directly:
“Did you buy resources/equipment for PoE2 and Diablo 4, and boost your level (had someone else play on your accounts)?”
And Musk responded with a 100% emoji. “But when I post a video of a game, or I’m streaming, that’s 100% me,” he clarified. “It’s impossible to beat Asian players if you don’t do it because they do it too!”
Musk presents himself as a master gamer, which is part of his personality and personal brand. Boosting characters in games like Diablo and PoE 2 is not unheard of, but it is controversial. Bringing a character to the maximum level can be a grueling task that takes hundreds of hours, and gamers wondered how Musk could get his characters to such high levels while also being with Trump and running several companies.
NikoWrex asked if Musk intended to take credit for getting a character to the maximum level. “No, I never said that. The top accounts in Diablo or PoE require multiple people playing on the account to win the level race,” Musk clarified.
This indicates that he admits the criticisms from the gaming community are true: he is not the one taking the accounts to the maximum level. It’s strange because if he wanted to, he could have dispelled all the drama by stating it clearly from the beginning.
