Title: What's Behind Elon Musk's Feud with a Twitch Streamer?
Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual globally and CEO of various companies, recently found himself in hot water over his gaming abilities. The billionaire, who is set to attend Donald Trump's inauguration and heads a new government department, got into a tussle with Twitch streamer Asmongold after the latter called out Musk's claims about his expertise in Path of Exile 2.
Last week, Musk live-streamed his high-level Path of Exile 2 character. With Path of Exile 2 being a Diablo IV-style action RPG, Musk's character was impressive, playing on an arduous difficulty mode. However, his performance raised eyebrows among those familiar with the game, leading many to suspect account boosting.
Musk's character seemed to embody the trademarks of an account that's been leveled up by another person. This suspected behavior led to widespread mockery and criticism from the gaming community. Path of Exile 2 players posted countless videos critiquing Musk's play and pointing out inconsistencies in his gameplay.
Among those body-slamming Musk was Asmongold, the Texas-based streamer known for his questionable hygiene, controversial videos, and Twitch ban due to anti-Palestine comments. In a January 12 Twitch stream that was later uploaded to YouTube, Asmongold said, "The question: did Elon Musk play this account to level 97? The answer is very simple. No. Unequivocally, without a doubt, 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 that I do."
In response, Musk unfollowed Asmongold on X, then shared a DM conversation with the streamer they'd had in November. In the chat, Musk questioned Asmongold's use of editors who help cut his Twitch streams into YouTube videos. This common practice in the industry seemed to irk Musk.
However, hosting private conversations on X violated the platform's terms of service. The note below Musk's post pointed out, "Sharing someone else's private messages without their express authorization and permission is generally against the platform's Terms of Service (ToS)."
Asmongold addressed the controversy with a calm demeanor in a follow-up stream, inviting Musk to stream the game with a facecam to prove his abilities. On X, Musk posted a clip of himself playing Diablo IV, but users responded with antisemitic memes and accusations against Asmongold.
This incident marks another day in the life of X, the Everything App, where Twitch-like features shake up the online gaming community.
Despite the controversy surrounding his Path of Exile 2 performance, Elon Musk firmly believes in the role of technology and 'tech' in shaping the future of gaming. In an interview, he stated, "The future of gaming is bound to be influenced heavily by advancements in technology, and I'm excited to be a part of it."
In response to Asmongold's challenge, Musk could potentially showcase his in-game skills in a live-stream, further proving or disproving the allegations of account boosting. Regardless of the outcome, the incident has reignited debates about the intersection of celebrity, gaming, and the use of 'tech' in the digital age.
