Gamers Aren't Holding Back On Elon Musk Cheating Accusations

The richest man in the world has been accused of paying to win in multiple video games, and the internet isn't letting him off the hook. Earlier this month, Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk sent a shockwave through the RPG community when he revealed that he was the player behind Percy_Verence, one of the highest-ranked hardcore characters in "Path of Exile 2." However, the admiration of his fellow players quickly turned to suspicion when Musk livestreamed a "Path of Exile 2" session and seemed woefully ignorant of many of the game's mechanics. Commenters have pointed out that Musk left behind top-tier loot, seemingly struggled to use the game's map or navigate its most basic menu functions, and did not seem to realize he was out of mana during a boss fight.

Overall, fans came away with a feeling like Musk barely understood the game he was playing, which makes it all the more confusing to see that he somehow managed to reach Level 97 with a character in hardcore mode, which punishes death by reducing their character to a clean slate. Dedicated "Path of Exile 2" players have accused Musk of sharing his account with other players, with some suggesting that he's paid someone else to level up his character when he's not playing. Players also rejoiced over the weekend when the news spread that Percy_Verence was slain, ending his reign while Musk was at Rank 7 on the global "Path of Exile" leaderboard. This dramatic end hasn't totally satisfied gamers, however — and it seems like the discourse is only beginning.

Over the last few days, some big names in the streaming community have called upon Elon to prove his gaming prowess. Many have taken to reacting to Musk's livestream and providing their own commentary. Quin69 grew progressively more frustrated throughout his video on the topic, repeatedly claiming, "[Musk] has no idea what's going on." MoistCr1tikal remarked, "He doesn't understand how the game works. It's so false it's laughable." HasanAbi went one step further, saying, "My man was so obviously cheating ... We know he's not an incredible video game player, because we remember his 'Elden Ring' build," referencing the billionaire's Soulslike playthrough that everyone clowned on a few years back. 

Asmongold's reaction has attracted the most attention, however. As a huge fan of "Path of Exile 2," it makes sense that all eyes would be on Asmongold, who immediately came to the conclusion that Musk was tasking other people with leveling up his character for him. During a recent stream, Asmongold decided to put his channel where his mouth is, saying, "If Elon Musk can prove that he played this account to 97, I will stream on X starting the day that he proves it, for an entire year straight, every single stream."

Musk has not yet responded to the gauntlet thrown down by Asmongold, but fans are waiting with bated breath. After all, this isn't the first time Musk has been accused of underhandedly boosting his games — he faced similar allegations when he claimed to be one of the world's top "Diablo 4" players — and the bet from Asmongold has undoubtedly sweetened the deal for everyone watching the drama unfold.