Thie world's richest man fakes his skills at a computer game
February 22, 2025 11:34 AM Subscribe
The world's richest man played a computer game, and as other gamers watched him livestream his game, they start realizing he knows nothing about it, even though his character is one of the best in a game that is incredibly hard to play.
This happened a month ago, but this a great post that seems to have missed the Metafilter community and a good reminder that the larger-than-liffe billionaires are just as underwhelming as the some of the worst of us.
This happened a month ago, but this a great post that seems to have missed the Metafilter community and a good reminder that the larger-than-liffe billionaires are just as underwhelming as the some of the worst of us.
My analogy for the value of regulation is this. If you follow the rules to the game of Monopoly you will find who's better at Monopoly. If you get rid of the rules, you will find who is most grabby. Musk doesn't want to play by the rules because he is incompetent at anything but cheating.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:17 PM on February 22 [21 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:17 PM on February 22 [21 favorites]
I kept kicking around making a post about this. It’s so hilarious and weird that he not only pays people to level him… but then gets on stream and will clearly never have played the game.
Like ever. It happens over and over.
I realized that he was incredibly stupid thanks to his Elden Ring “build” where he just carried around two shields equipped “just in case” and slow rolled. In non-gamer terms, imagine you’re running around a track with your gym bag safely in a locker. But you also decide to bring extra shoes, clothes, etc all carried in your arms for the entire run. Just cause?
The internet and drugs have truly broken Elon’s brain. He also made Grimes recently post that he was sooooooo good at some games.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:18 PM on February 22 [10 favorites]
Like ever. It happens over and over.
I realized that he was incredibly stupid thanks to his Elden Ring “build” where he just carried around two shields equipped “just in case” and slow rolled. In non-gamer terms, imagine you’re running around a track with your gym bag safely in a locker. But you also decide to bring extra shoes, clothes, etc all carried in your arms for the entire run. Just cause?
The internet and drugs have truly broken Elon’s brain. He also made Grimes recently post that he was sooooooo good at some games.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:18 PM on February 22 [10 favorites]
The world's richest man played a computer game
It would've been so funny if this link had gone to Bill Gates playing DOOM.
posted by mittens at 12:24 PM on February 22 [25 favorites]
It would've been so funny if this link had gone to Bill Gates playing DOOM.
posted by mittens at 12:24 PM on February 22 [25 favorites]
I know this almost sounds petty, but I swear there's something deeper here: his gaming setup is total shit.
The dude is the single richest person on Earth. He claims to like gaming, and he might even be telling the truth since most nerdy people our age do.
But he hasn't spent even a few thousand dollars on a decent gaming setup. Heck, he hasn't even spent more than a few hundred. He's got a shitty keyboard, a single monitor, his desk is not only boring but also not really functional, and I have no idea what the specs on his gaming rig are but based on how the rest of his gaming setup is I'll bet it's nothing impressive.
He doesn't spend even modest amounts for a middle class person on something that ostensibly gives him pleasure.
There's something deeply wrong with him, and both the cheating and the shitty gaming setup show it.
posted by sotonohito at 12:35 PM on February 22 [46 favorites]
The dude is the single richest person on Earth. He claims to like gaming, and he might even be telling the truth since most nerdy people our age do.
But he hasn't spent even a few thousand dollars on a decent gaming setup. Heck, he hasn't even spent more than a few hundred. He's got a shitty keyboard, a single monitor, his desk is not only boring but also not really functional, and I have no idea what the specs on his gaming rig are but based on how the rest of his gaming setup is I'll bet it's nothing impressive.
He doesn't spend even modest amounts for a middle class person on something that ostensibly gives him pleasure.
There's something deeply wrong with him, and both the cheating and the shitty gaming setup show it.
posted by sotonohito at 12:35 PM on February 22 [46 favorites]
Dave Karpf on Elon's other gaming habit
It's evident to everyone who witnesses his public behavior that he's a child.
Given the amount of time that he's been showing his ass in public, I dont think a substantial portion of the public agrees, which is wild.
posted by Dr. Twist at 12:38 PM on February 22 [10 favorites]
It's evident to everyone who witnesses his public behavior that he's a child.
Given the amount of time that he's been showing his ass in public, I dont think a substantial portion of the public agrees, which is wild.
posted by Dr. Twist at 12:38 PM on February 22 [10 favorites]
sotonohito, it drives me MAD because why is his head SO CLOSE to his massive curved monitor??? I'm a big curved monitor fan myself but he should be like another foot backwards, it's like any food-related picture of Trump, the longer you look the more you see wrong with it.
posted by threementholsandafuneral at 12:39 PM on February 22 [12 favorites]
posted by threementholsandafuneral at 12:39 PM on February 22 [12 favorites]
I need to see a picture of this setup, please.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:49 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 12:49 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]
I am disgusted by Elon Musk's gaming setup, great deep dive into how deranged it is.
posted by threementholsandafuneral at 12:50 PM on February 22 [14 favorites]
posted by threementholsandafuneral at 12:50 PM on February 22 [14 favorites]
>Author of Upcoming Elon Musk Biography Says ‘There Is No Evidence’ Billionaire Has Any ‘Intellectual Achievements’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/author-upcoming-elon-musk-biography-040538098.html
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:00 PM on February 22 [11 favorites]
https://www.yahoo.com/news/author-upcoming-elon-musk-biography-040538098.html
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:00 PM on February 22 [11 favorites]
This is just Elon playing 4-D chess, which he's also not good at.
posted by milnak at 1:07 PM on February 22 [14 favorites]
posted by milnak at 1:07 PM on February 22 [14 favorites]
But he hasn't spent even a few thousand dollars on a decent gaming setup. Heck, he hasn't even spent more than a few hundred. He's got a shitty keyboard, a single monitor, his desk is not only boring but also not really functional, and I have no idea what the specs on his gaming rig are…
How do you know this?
posted by waving at 1:12 PM on February 22
How do you know this?
posted by waving at 1:12 PM on February 22
A few months back I read the article that threementholsandafuneral posted just a few comments above. It's got pix of his setup from some of his streams.
posted by sotonohito at 1:16 PM on February 22 [2 favorites]
posted by sotonohito at 1:16 PM on February 22 [2 favorites]
Tom Gauld wrote a short comic specifically about this phenomenon:
https://bsky.app/profile/tomgauld.bsky.social/post/3lht5et3lm22h
You can ~literally~ have all the money in the world but you still can't FORCE everyone to like you - this drives a lot of Billionaire ManBaby Behaviour.
posted by Faintdreams at 1:19 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
https://bsky.app/profile/tomgauld.bsky.social/post/3lht5et3lm22h
You can ~literally~ have all the money in the world but you still can't FORCE everyone to like you - this drives a lot of Billionaire ManBaby Behaviour.
posted by Faintdreams at 1:19 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
How do you know this?
You'd have to ask Chris Person ("that Chris person"), he made the observation.
posted by JHarris at 1:27 PM on February 22
You'd have to ask Chris Person ("that Chris person"), he made the observation.
posted by JHarris at 1:27 PM on February 22
Oh god, the colors are so washed out on that monitor, I bet he has the color space mismatched between monitor and PC. Hilarious. This is the sort of stuff that takes 2 seconds to configure and is specifically usually set to auto so it just does it without bothering. There’s only two settings (limited and full) so it’s not complicated.
Truly the Tony Stark of our modern era. Every new thing I learn about him and his quest to be a “l33t gamer” is a new fount of idiocy. Like if a dude said he was super awesome at basketball but didn’t know what dribbling entailed.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 1:37 PM on February 22 [4 favorites]
Truly the Tony Stark of our modern era. Every new thing I learn about him and his quest to be a “l33t gamer” is a new fount of idiocy. Like if a dude said he was super awesome at basketball but didn’t know what dribbling entailed.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 1:37 PM on February 22 [4 favorites]
it drives me MAD because why is his head SO CLOSE to his massive curved monitor
It makes sense once you realise that he's tripping balls.
posted by meehawl at 1:44 PM on February 22 [20 favorites]
It makes sense once you realise that he's tripping balls.
posted by meehawl at 1:44 PM on February 22 [20 favorites]
His head's so close to his monitor because he probably needs glasses, but won't wear them.
posted by Art_Pot at 1:51 PM on February 22 [21 favorites]
posted by Art_Pot at 1:51 PM on February 22 [21 favorites]
Reminder that urls aren’t automatically turned into links, but can easily be made linkable (thus contributing to site accessibility) by using the “link” button in the quick-access edit buttons immediately below the comment input window. (The link button is the one on the far right of the row of buttons just under the comment box.) Linking urls properly ourselves saves mod time for actual site moderation, too!
posted by eviemath at 1:52 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 1:52 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
This embarrassment got as far as the New York Times.
What I think is weird about his Path of Exile cheating is why he thought it'd be a flex in the first place. I've played a lot of that game. It's a good game. But it's totally a grindy game: hours in = reward. Why would a man who is nominally running five companies and dismantling America also want to pretend that he spends 200+ hours playing a repetitive video game?
Trump cheating at golf I understand. You lie about your score and everyone's like "oh, let's pretend he's good at golf". With Musk we're supposed to pretend he's good at running the same dungeon 20+ times just to get the rare drop he needs?
posted by Nelson at 2:34 PM on February 22 [8 favorites]
What I think is weird about his Path of Exile cheating is why he thought it'd be a flex in the first place. I've played a lot of that game. It's a good game. But it's totally a grindy game: hours in = reward. Why would a man who is nominally running five companies and dismantling America also want to pretend that he spends 200+ hours playing a repetitive video game?
Trump cheating at golf I understand. You lie about your score and everyone's like "oh, let's pretend he's good at golf". With Musk we're supposed to pretend he's good at running the same dungeon 20+ times just to get the rare drop he needs?
posted by Nelson at 2:34 PM on February 22 [8 favorites]
> It would've been so funny if this link had gone to Bill Gates playing DOOM.
It's funny you bring up Gates because he's been competing in public contract bridge tournaments for around two decades, a game that you can't pay somebody to level up for you or run cheat code on.
Instead, his cheating at bridge was the kind Jeffrey Epstein would get involved with.
posted by at by at 2:39 PM on February 22 [11 favorites]
It's funny you bring up Gates because he's been competing in public contract bridge tournaments for around two decades, a game that you can't pay somebody to level up for you or run cheat code on.
Instead, his cheating at bridge was the kind Jeffrey Epstein would get involved with.
posted by at by at 2:39 PM on February 22 [11 favorites]
I can't believe anyone cares about this
posted by BWA at 2:41 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]
posted by BWA at 2:41 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]
I am so tired of this narcissistic clown
posted by robbyrobs at 2:49 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
posted by robbyrobs at 2:49 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
He doesn't spend even modest amounts for a middle class person on something that ostensibly gives him pleasure.
It's because it's a pose. Yes, that thing that a legion of internet male persons have accused every woman they've ever seen playing a game of being, a poser, that's what Elon Musk actually is. He does it for the same reason he constantly uses decade-old memes, he wants to prove to the most suggestible, guileless marks in the US, internet-focused men, that he's one of them, because he thinks he's finally popular. His ownership of Twitter, though accidental and forced upon him, also serves to cocoon him in their adulation, and because the social media algorithm, even before Musk's rise to prominence in it, tries desperately to only show people messages that reinforce their beliefs, it's a feedback loop.
All of this is as I see it of course, but I haven't seen anything that disproves it yet.
posted by JHarris at 4:31 PM on February 22 [7 favorites]
It's because it's a pose. Yes, that thing that a legion of internet male persons have accused every woman they've ever seen playing a game of being, a poser, that's what Elon Musk actually is. He does it for the same reason he constantly uses decade-old memes, he wants to prove to the most suggestible, guileless marks in the US, internet-focused men, that he's one of them, because he thinks he's finally popular. His ownership of Twitter, though accidental and forced upon him, also serves to cocoon him in their adulation, and because the social media algorithm, even before Musk's rise to prominence in it, tries desperately to only show people messages that reinforce their beliefs, it's a feedback loop.
All of this is as I see it of course, but I haven't seen anything that disproves it yet.
posted by JHarris at 4:31 PM on February 22 [7 favorites]
Once again, I'm relieved that he's clearly not spending any quality time with his kids.
posted by Capt. Renault at 5:33 PM on February 22 [11 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 5:33 PM on February 22 [11 favorites]
Are there a lot of top gamers who are Musk's age? He's 53, and I want to make a joke that's like "ARPG? More like AARPG!" but I can't find it, probably because I, too, am over 50. I know that the twitchy gamer reflexes do fade. I doubt I was 30 before I realized that teenagers had better online shooty reflexes than me.
posted by surlyben at 5:46 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]
posted by surlyben at 5:46 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]
I can't believe anyone cares about this
this country's Truth and Reconciliation tribunals (whenever they arrive) will be l33t af
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:11 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]
this country's Truth and Reconciliation tribunals (whenever they arrive) will be l33t af
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:11 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]
surlyben There's that too. POE is a fairly niche game with a mostly older player base. Pure anecdote but I was on chat channel 6666 someone mentioned being old and people started talking about their ages, the youngest was 28 and the average was closer to 40 or 50.
The fact that Musk is cheating on POE for internet clout, when you'd have to explain what it even is to most people including even most gamers, is really weird.
posted by sotonohito at 6:13 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
The fact that Musk is cheating on POE for internet clout, when you'd have to explain what it even is to most people including even most gamers, is really weird.
posted by sotonohito at 6:13 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
Mod note: One comment and response removed. Referring to any women as "prized breeders" is sexist. Don't do that on this website.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:01 PM on February 22 [10 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:01 PM on February 22 [10 favorites]
Ask Grimes maybe? Anyways bullshit from powerful people never really surprises me.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:18 PM on February 22
posted by jeffburdges at 7:18 PM on February 22
As to why we care, this is a pretty fascinating look into what narcissism truly does to a person and it’s through the lens a lot of us know well (gaming).
He’s basically re-enacting that Olympics breakdancing routine every time he pretends he’s pro gamer man. This is also what he’s doing “streamlining” the American government. At least the games thing is funny and sad and not just horrific and sad.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:25 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
He’s basically re-enacting that Olympics breakdancing routine every time he pretends he’s pro gamer man. This is also what he’s doing “streamlining” the American government. At least the games thing is funny and sad and not just horrific and sad.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:25 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
Why do I feel like the world's richest man will care way more than the average twelve-year-old would that people are saying he sucks at a video game?
posted by Rykey at 7:44 PM on February 22 [4 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 7:44 PM on February 22 [4 favorites]
Isn't part of his current deal that he doesn't have a permanent residence? Otherwise I would certainly expect that to have some incredibly tacky "gaming room" with nice kit.
Many years ago, I worked on a game involving Steven Spielberg. As we got towards the end of development, we sent over builds to his guy who would set them up on a computer for him. One time I talked to the guy and he was working on getting things set up so Spielberg and his son could play a game online with Robin Williams and his son. (I remember it being a MechWarrior game.) Aside from shameless namedropping, my point is that wealthy people can afford to pay people to sort this stuff out for them.
If he weren't a Nazi, I'd almost feel sorry for Elon and his pathetic inability to enjoy his massive wealth. This gilded age is too dominated by people with massive wealth and absolutely terrible taste in everything.
posted by jimw at 7:50 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
Many years ago, I worked on a game involving Steven Spielberg. As we got towards the end of development, we sent over builds to his guy who would set them up on a computer for him. One time I talked to the guy and he was working on getting things set up so Spielberg and his son could play a game online with Robin Williams and his son. (I remember it being a MechWarrior game.) Aside from shameless namedropping, my point is that wealthy people can afford to pay people to sort this stuff out for them.
If he weren't a Nazi, I'd almost feel sorry for Elon and his pathetic inability to enjoy his massive wealth. This gilded age is too dominated by people with massive wealth and absolutely terrible taste in everything.
posted by jimw at 7:50 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
A friend of mine observed that incomprehensible as this is to non-gamers, it might actually be the thing that finally disillusions some of his core fanbase.
It is cringe.
posted by subdee at 7:56 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
It is cringe.
posted by subdee at 7:56 PM on February 22 [6 favorites]
> my point is that wealthy people can afford to pay people to sort this stuff out for them.
I worked with a guy whose job back in the UK was (amongst other things) to setup IT kit given as Christmas presents to family members of wealthy petroleum company executives (on Christmas day).
posted by phigmov at 8:20 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]
I worked with a guy whose job back in the UK was (amongst other things) to setup IT kit given as Christmas presents to family members of wealthy petroleum company executives (on Christmas day).
posted by phigmov at 8:20 PM on February 22 [3 favorites]
He's the kind of guy who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. It also explains the nature of the DOGE cuts.
posted by srboisvert at 4:49 AM on February 23 [4 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 4:49 AM on February 23 [4 favorites]
...my point is that wealthy people can afford to pay people to sort this stuff out for them.
To be fair to Spielberg, he’s likely way too busy (or was at the time of the anecdote) to dick-around setting-up a game system.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:14 AM on February 23 [1 favorite]
To be fair to Spielberg, he’s likely way too busy (or was at the time of the anecdote) to dick-around setting-up a game system.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:14 AM on February 23 [1 favorite]
How apt is the analogy to Nero's fiddle?
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:47 AM on February 23
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 5:47 AM on February 23
I know this almost sounds petty, but I swear there's something deeper here: his gaming setup is total shit.
Channeling Frowner from eight years ago:
Channeling Frowner from eight years ago:
It's really struck me that almost no one in this administration seems to get much use out of being rich other than the sheer "I can be an asshole" aspect. Bannon is a man like an unmade bed - he's obviously not doing anything fun with his money for normal values of fun. Trump can't even get a well-fitting, flattering suit. At least Conway had that horrible seventies-mod inauguration day outfit that she must have enjoyed in an ordinary, human way. But they all seem to have terrible clothes, eat awful food, have empty personal lives, not have any real cultural interests other than, like, Nazi-ism, etc.posted by Mayor West at 6:24 AM on February 23 [22 favorites]
Honestly, one thing I was thinking last night was that there's a built-in problem with being a leader in a large, crass, imperial state - it's not very fun and it requires you to lie a lot and believe/pretend to believe a bunch of garbage, so ordinary people, particularly intelligent ones, just don't want to do it.
Metafilter: I can't believe anyone cares about this
posted by mazola at 6:33 AM on February 23 [5 favorites]
posted by mazola at 6:33 AM on February 23 [5 favorites]
Given the amount of time that he's been showing his ass in public, I dont think a substantial portion of the public agrees, which is wild.
A friend’s ex, much younger than I, has been bored since their breakup (she was kinda his only social outlet and we were all in school right at a weird time during the pandemic so it’s a weird ride-or-die but also finding our own lives now) and we’ve been just running into each other. He’s just starting his career in tech and I struggle because he’s a smart kid but he is such a huge Elon Musk fan. I don’t get it. He buys into the narrative fully, and hasn’t thought critically about what he sees.
Here’s the thing, I don’t think I’m nearly as anti-Musk as a lot of people. At least I wasn’t until he went all weird meme-fascism. I think he was like many confused and lonely nerds with suddenly power and popularity. But also that between buying Twitter and it not going as planned (heck, even that he was forced to buy when it was meant to be a stunt) and one of his children being trans and threatening his masculinity, he went off the deep end. Yeah he was shit about buying and stealing other peoples ideas but he has been good about bringing some of the better deep geek ideas to reality. Perfectly? No. Have some flopped? Yes. But I do have a nuanced take here that I don’t often see anymore.
But, back to said friend. After some browbeating on it, I connected via Instagram. Well I cannot believe how much that polluted my reels with Elon Musk propaganda(?). No like really. It took me a moment to figure out that’s why I’m seeing so much suddenly (within 24 hours, maybe less, of following). Like no wonder so many have a misguided opinion of him. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Musk himself were responsible for some of it, though he certainly has his fanboys.
On that note, wow I didn’t know how much following one person could change my algo. I think I need to ponder this and figure out the reverse, how to use this to influence others. My choice of reels are going to be mostly personal growth and dating and neurodivergence and neuroscience and dance and AI weirdness. I actually avoid straight politics and cult of personality because reels are an escape. But now I’m wondering, do I need to throw in some intentionality to what I view so anyone I connect to/am connected to has a little nudge in a better direction?
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:02 AM on February 23 [4 favorites]
A friend’s ex, much younger than I, has been bored since their breakup (she was kinda his only social outlet and we were all in school right at a weird time during the pandemic so it’s a weird ride-or-die but also finding our own lives now) and we’ve been just running into each other. He’s just starting his career in tech and I struggle because he’s a smart kid but he is such a huge Elon Musk fan. I don’t get it. He buys into the narrative fully, and hasn’t thought critically about what he sees.
Here’s the thing, I don’t think I’m nearly as anti-Musk as a lot of people. At least I wasn’t until he went all weird meme-fascism. I think he was like many confused and lonely nerds with suddenly power and popularity. But also that between buying Twitter and it not going as planned (heck, even that he was forced to buy when it was meant to be a stunt) and one of his children being trans and threatening his masculinity, he went off the deep end. Yeah he was shit about buying and stealing other peoples ideas but he has been good about bringing some of the better deep geek ideas to reality. Perfectly? No. Have some flopped? Yes. But I do have a nuanced take here that I don’t often see anymore.
But, back to said friend. After some browbeating on it, I connected via Instagram. Well I cannot believe how much that polluted my reels with Elon Musk propaganda(?). No like really. It took me a moment to figure out that’s why I’m seeing so much suddenly (within 24 hours, maybe less, of following). Like no wonder so many have a misguided opinion of him. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Musk himself were responsible for some of it, though he certainly has his fanboys.
On that note, wow I didn’t know how much following one person could change my algo. I think I need to ponder this and figure out the reverse, how to use this to influence others. My choice of reels are going to be mostly personal growth and dating and neurodivergence and neuroscience and dance and AI weirdness. I actually avoid straight politics and cult of personality because reels are an escape. But now I’m wondering, do I need to throw in some intentionality to what I view so anyone I connect to/am connected to has a little nudge in a better direction?
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:02 AM on February 23 [4 favorites]
This gilded age is too dominated by people with massive wealth and absolutely terrible taste in everything.
There are certainly lots of them because there are so many 100+ millionaires. But for every Musk there are fifty rich guys quietly going about there business.
Isn't part of his current deal that he doesn't have a permanent residence?
Yes and it's such bullshit too. First off he travels around in a pair of I'd assume well appointed private jets providing living space most RVers would envy if he wanted. And the whole point of a residence to quote a famous philosopher is "A place for your stuff". A man with a candle lackey can store his stuff offline just have it brought to wherever he is. Or just acquire new stuff as needed.
posted by Mitheral at 9:58 AM on February 23
There are certainly lots of them because there are so many 100+ millionaires. But for every Musk there are fifty rich guys quietly going about there business.
Isn't part of his current deal that he doesn't have a permanent residence?
Yes and it's such bullshit too. First off he travels around in a pair of I'd assume well appointed private jets providing living space most RVers would envy if he wanted. And the whole point of a residence to quote a famous philosopher is "A place for your stuff". A man with a candle lackey can store his stuff offline just have it brought to wherever he is. Or just acquire new stuff as needed.
posted by Mitheral at 9:58 AM on February 23
My takeaway from this is that he takes the same approach to gaming that his co-president takes to golf: winning is more important than actually being able to play the game.
posted by TedW at 10:43 AM on February 23 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 10:43 AM on February 23 [1 favorite]
It's pretty low on the list of reasons billionaires should be allowed to exist but it seems like so many of them are just terrible at being rich. There was a story from a while back about Jack what's-'is-name (that used to own twitter) went to Zuckerberg's house for dinner.
Zuck had some weird thing about killing the food he eats so we had goats. That's fine, be eccentric! Rhys Darby (from Our Flag Means Death) has a bunch of pet goats.
But he only had six goats because more than that takes a permit. Then they had to haul the thing into town to have it butchered before bringing it back so Zuck could do a shitty job of cooking it.
Dude is a billionaire and would have a very hard time out-spending his income, the fuck does he care about a permit?
If it were me I'd have my personal assistant(s) build a little goat farm, hire a goat herder to take care of them, build a clean space up to whatever relevant regulations to slaughter and butcher the thing, and arrange for a butcher and chef to come do their thing?
What do I have all this money if not to spend it having nice shit with no personal effort? If my staff is any good I won't even need to think any of this through, they'd figure out some options and present them with me along with proposed budgets.
So what if I throw a cool million at it? It's only money, I'll make some more!
And setting up a super cool and slick gaming rig and desk? I think I'd have a hard time spending a $100,000 if I tried.
posted by VTX at 11:10 AM on February 23 [6 favorites]
Zuck had some weird thing about killing the food he eats so we had goats. That's fine, be eccentric! Rhys Darby (from Our Flag Means Death) has a bunch of pet goats.
But he only had six goats because more than that takes a permit. Then they had to haul the thing into town to have it butchered before bringing it back so Zuck could do a shitty job of cooking it.
Dude is a billionaire and would have a very hard time out-spending his income, the fuck does he care about a permit?
If it were me I'd have my personal assistant(s) build a little goat farm, hire a goat herder to take care of them, build a clean space up to whatever relevant regulations to slaughter and butcher the thing, and arrange for a butcher and chef to come do their thing?
What do I have all this money if not to spend it having nice shit with no personal effort? If my staff is any good I won't even need to think any of this through, they'd figure out some options and present them with me along with proposed budgets.
So what if I throw a cool million at it? It's only money, I'll make some more!
And setting up a super cool and slick gaming rig and desk? I think I'd have a hard time spending a $100,000 if I tried.
posted by VTX at 11:10 AM on February 23 [6 favorites]
And even that is the equivalent of someone with a million dollars net worth spending a dollar.
posted by Mitheral at 12:20 PM on February 23 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 12:20 PM on February 23 [2 favorites]
He's the kind of guy who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
I don't think he knows the price or the value of anything. Not in the monetary sense or any other.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:56 PM on February 23 [1 favorite]
I don't think he knows the price or the value of anything. Not in the monetary sense or any other.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:56 PM on February 23 [1 favorite]
I can't believe anyone cares about this
Games, especially competitive multiplayer games, are easy to cheat at if you have money, but that cheating becomes immediately transparent the second you want to show off. It has a clearly defined and easily recognisable requirement for equipment that allows you to participate at any real level, and has a material culture that makes fraud immediately visible. It's also a culture hosts a very specific sort of young person, predominantly disaffected young men, who are often disengaged from politics entirely.
Musk is currently gutting the US government by pretending to be good at what he does, by having an understanding of ...whatever people think you need to do that kind of audit, some kind of hidden understanding that makes the subversion of normal law worth the risk.
If it takes a shit keyboard and a crappy gaming chair to really illustrate how much of a liar and a cheat Musk is, then we should absolutely give a shit about it and be pointing out his crap rig to every 22 year old gamer kid out there who may otherwise be willing to let his horseshit slide. Like he's not even a cheat, he can't even cheat well.
posted by Jilder at 5:19 PM on February 23 [9 favorites]
Games, especially competitive multiplayer games, are easy to cheat at if you have money, but that cheating becomes immediately transparent the second you want to show off. It has a clearly defined and easily recognisable requirement for equipment that allows you to participate at any real level, and has a material culture that makes fraud immediately visible. It's also a culture hosts a very specific sort of young person, predominantly disaffected young men, who are often disengaged from politics entirely.
Musk is currently gutting the US government by pretending to be good at what he does, by having an understanding of ...whatever people think you need to do that kind of audit, some kind of hidden understanding that makes the subversion of normal law worth the risk.
If it takes a shit keyboard and a crappy gaming chair to really illustrate how much of a liar and a cheat Musk is, then we should absolutely give a shit about it and be pointing out his crap rig to every 22 year old gamer kid out there who may otherwise be willing to let his horseshit slide. Like he's not even a cheat, he can't even cheat well.
posted by Jilder at 5:19 PM on February 23 [9 favorites]
Yeah, and it's the hubris where he goes on live stream and hasn't even practiced the game once. He will attempt to click on things over and over like "why isn't this working?" when it would be obvious if you had played for a bit let alone long enough to get to the peak he is claiming to be at.
So he doesn't even think to put on a good front. He just assumes because he is there that people will believe him.
Now he's doing it to our government because he's a nazi who is also a grifter.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 5:49 PM on February 23 [8 favorites]
So he doesn't even think to put on a good front. He just assumes because he is there that people will believe him.
Now he's doing it to our government because he's a nazi who is also a grifter.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 5:49 PM on February 23 [8 favorites]
This won't be the last time hubris brings down an empire, but watching it happen is way less interesting than reading about it in epic verse, literature, or history books. It all just seems so dumb and silly, not to mention banal and petty. "Really? This lousy bunch of insecure, greedy buffoons are doing what now?" Not that the empire was run by enlightened philosophers to begin with, but still...
posted by nikoniko at 6:06 PM on February 23 [3 favorites]
posted by nikoniko at 6:06 PM on February 23 [3 favorites]
The main thing to know about this game is that is has a 'permanent death' mode and Elon has a high level character with extremely good gear in that mode. To achieve that is extraordinarily difficult because you have to do a lot of difficult raids without making any mistakes, I think I read somewhere that this character would be like, rated 11th in the entire world based on stats and gear.
Then he goes on Livestream and says factually incorrect things about the game while not knowing what buttons to click on and opening his map that says "Elons map" (presumably showing where it's safe for him to go without killing the character).
It's not just that paying for a character and trying to pass it off as his own as if that will get him cred with gamers is pathetic, the WAY he does it is particularly pathetic and mockable.
posted by subdee at 7:55 PM on February 23 [10 favorites]
Then he goes on Livestream and says factually incorrect things about the game while not knowing what buttons to click on and opening his map that says "Elons map" (presumably showing where it's safe for him to go without killing the character).
It's not just that paying for a character and trying to pass it off as his own as if that will get him cred with gamers is pathetic, the WAY he does it is particularly pathetic and mockable.
posted by subdee at 7:55 PM on February 23 [10 favorites]
Just a side observation: While I didn’t read all the YT comments, I didn’t see anyone defending him. That’s unusual, and awesome!
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 7:49 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 7:49 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]
Thie world's richest man fakes his skills
You can just end the headline right thiere
posted by xigxag at 8:02 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]
You can just end the headline right thiere
posted by xigxag at 8:02 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]
Here's my question: why even do it? Why have someone level up your character but not even bother to learn how to play the game? And furthermore, why would you go live on stream just to expose how little you know how to play the game? As a lifelong, world-class poser, I would have expected Elon to have slightly more self-preservation instinct than to risk exposing himself like this. (E.g.: remember how that one weirdly boastful kid in middle school always had some excuse for why he couldn't show off his awesome skateboard tricks or martial arts moves or whatever right then and there?) Perhaps the money and/or drugs have scrambled his self-perception enough that he can no longer correctly perceive risks to his image like this one. Maybe he just assumed that he would be naturally great at this game because his brain is just a bowl of ketamine-laced porridge now. In any case, it's not very reassuring that this is the dipshit Nazi loser who's apparently in charge of the US government right now.
posted by mhum at 11:04 AM on February 24 [3 favorites]
posted by mhum at 11:04 AM on February 24 [3 favorites]
Drugs. Buying into his own hype. A truly desperate need for approval and internet clout.
And a lot of overestimation of his own abilities combined with underestimation of difficulty.
A lot like how he runs Twitter, actually. Especially the infamous incident where he committed breaking and entering in a cloud server center and destroyed many hundreds (if not thousands) of servers by yanking the power and dumping them into a trailer.
To him the idea that it'd take time to spin down those servers and move them, that they'd need a bonded company to do it with special gear, seemed like weak minded foolishness from a peasant. His galaxy brain can see that moving a server is easy: you pull the plug and you move it, done!
This, in fact, does not work even if you don't damage things by putting them into a trailer and bouncing them around a lot. But he thinks he's smart, and rational, so therefore if he thought something he believes it must be true. After all, he's smart and rational!
And Path of Exile? Pfft, it's just a game, he played games back when Nintendo Hard meant something. It's just Diablo 4 with worse graphics right? So he probably started a character and clicked around a bit, decided it was very simple, and then decided he wanted some more adulation.
Hire a pro, fake a few livestreams, and now suddenly he's Elon Musk Boy Genius who is so brilliant he not only cut waste and fraud from the evil US government but did it while playing a game with cool explosions on the screen! It was perfect.
Except.... He wasn't getting the praise directly. Sure, he got the fawning Tweets and while someone else was playing the game people said he was cool, but that's not the same thing as playing it and basking in the approval yourself directly.
And anyway, his hireling had done the boring shit and leveled up his character, and he knew how to play because he spent a little bit playing once or twice, and he's a wikked kewl super smart power gamer and that ketamine is really starting to kick in so fuck it, it's easy! I'm a genius, of course I can play this silly game!
And, well, then you get this.
He doesn't learn because learning would require he give up his illusions about himself, his coolness, and his abilities.
posted by sotonohito at 11:46 AM on February 24 [4 favorites]
And a lot of overestimation of his own abilities combined with underestimation of difficulty.
A lot like how he runs Twitter, actually. Especially the infamous incident where he committed breaking and entering in a cloud server center and destroyed many hundreds (if not thousands) of servers by yanking the power and dumping them into a trailer.
To him the idea that it'd take time to spin down those servers and move them, that they'd need a bonded company to do it with special gear, seemed like weak minded foolishness from a peasant. His galaxy brain can see that moving a server is easy: you pull the plug and you move it, done!
This, in fact, does not work even if you don't damage things by putting them into a trailer and bouncing them around a lot. But he thinks he's smart, and rational, so therefore if he thought something he believes it must be true. After all, he's smart and rational!
And Path of Exile? Pfft, it's just a game, he played games back when Nintendo Hard meant something. It's just Diablo 4 with worse graphics right? So he probably started a character and clicked around a bit, decided it was very simple, and then decided he wanted some more adulation.
Hire a pro, fake a few livestreams, and now suddenly he's Elon Musk Boy Genius who is so brilliant he not only cut waste and fraud from the evil US government but did it while playing a game with cool explosions on the screen! It was perfect.
Except.... He wasn't getting the praise directly. Sure, he got the fawning Tweets and while someone else was playing the game people said he was cool, but that's not the same thing as playing it and basking in the approval yourself directly.
And anyway, his hireling had done the boring shit and leveled up his character, and he knew how to play because he spent a little bit playing once or twice, and he's a wikked kewl super smart power gamer and that ketamine is really starting to kick in so fuck it, it's easy! I'm a genius, of course I can play this silly game!
And, well, then you get this.
He doesn't learn because learning would require he give up his illusions about himself, his coolness, and his abilities.
posted by sotonohito at 11:46 AM on February 24 [4 favorites]
> sotonohito: "And, well, then you get this."
God how I wish Elon were a skateboard poser rather than a videogame poser so we could watch him try to drop into a bowl and just eat absolute shit.
posted by mhum at 11:52 AM on February 24 [3 favorites]
God how I wish Elon were a skateboard poser rather than a videogame poser so we could watch him try to drop into a bowl and just eat absolute shit.
posted by mhum at 11:52 AM on February 24 [3 favorites]
And furthermore, why would you go live on stream just to expose how little you know how to play the game?
He doesn't have the self-awareness to know that he can't play. He's at an intersection of wealth and delusion where he legitimately believes his own hype. Of course he can play the game! First of all he's the most intelligent man to ever live, OBVIOUSLY, or else he wouldn't be so rich. Second of all, he's already had his guy set up to be The Best, how can it possibly fail?
I do think the ketamine is a pretty big factor in why he is the way he is. But mostly I think the most powerful drug of all is having people kiss your ass 24/7 forever and ever. It warps and melts your brain to be surrounded by fanboys all day every day. It's not just the folly of never being told no; it's worse. It's the psychosis of never even being told anything but MY GOD YOU ARE AMAZING YOU ARE A GOD AMONGST MORTALS YOU ARE UNDEFEATED AND UNDEFEATABLE.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:52 AM on February 24 [8 favorites]
He doesn't have the self-awareness to know that he can't play. He's at an intersection of wealth and delusion where he legitimately believes his own hype. Of course he can play the game! First of all he's the most intelligent man to ever live, OBVIOUSLY, or else he wouldn't be so rich. Second of all, he's already had his guy set up to be The Best, how can it possibly fail?
I do think the ketamine is a pretty big factor in why he is the way he is. But mostly I think the most powerful drug of all is having people kiss your ass 24/7 forever and ever. It warps and melts your brain to be surrounded by fanboys all day every day. It's not just the folly of never being told no; it's worse. It's the psychosis of never even being told anything but MY GOD YOU ARE AMAZING YOU ARE A GOD AMONGST MORTALS YOU ARE UNDEFEATED AND UNDEFEATABLE.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:52 AM on February 24 [8 favorites]
Its worth noting that there's this myth of the super genius multitasker techbro badass who is so cool and in control and capable and badass and smart that he can game, or type, or otherwise not pay attention to a meeting but still get the meeting done.
Sam Bankman-Freid tried to wear the aspect of the badass corporate hacker by conspicuously gaming during meetings. His super brain was so powerful that he could be brilliant at business and game at the same time! And people actually wrote fawning articles praising him for his brilliance and, among other things, cited the gaming during meetings thing.
Musk almost certainly read an article about SBF talking about his gaming being proof of his brilliance, as opposed to proof that he's a rude asshole who never paid attention.
Musk desperately wants to be liked, adored, and told that he's brilliant. And he's on a lot of drugs so his brain is working less well than it did before he started hitting the ketamine and so on quite so hard.
posted by sotonohito at 11:54 AM on February 24 [7 favorites]
Sam Bankman-Freid tried to wear the aspect of the badass corporate hacker by conspicuously gaming during meetings. His super brain was so powerful that he could be brilliant at business and game at the same time! And people actually wrote fawning articles praising him for his brilliance and, among other things, cited the gaming during meetings thing.
Musk almost certainly read an article about SBF talking about his gaming being proof of his brilliance, as opposed to proof that he's a rude asshole who never paid attention.
Musk desperately wants to be liked, adored, and told that he's brilliant. And he's on a lot of drugs so his brain is working less well than it did before he started hitting the ketamine and so on quite so hard.
posted by sotonohito at 11:54 AM on February 24 [7 favorites]
The thing about ketamine is that you build a tolerance to it very quickly. More than pretty much any other drug I've tried. While my days of powder drugs are over now and I'm sure he's getting a much higher quality than I was he'd have to be taking massive massive amounts for him to still feel it.
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:57 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:57 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]
I really wish people would quit blaming the ketamine. Ketamine doesn't do that shit. He's been extremely obviously doing stimulants for YEARS. He's just only willing to ADMIT to the ketamine use for some reason.
posted by adrienneleigh at 12:00 PM on February 24 [2 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 12:00 PM on February 24 [2 favorites]
> adrienneleigh: "I really wish people would quit blaming the ketamine."
Tbh, I wanted to change "ketamine-laced porridge" to "amphetamine-laced porridge" but the edit window expired. I agree that it's far more likely that his non-ket drug usage -- I'm guessing amphetamines & cocaine, just like the original Nazis used -- is causing more damage to his psyche than ketamine.
posted by mhum at 12:09 PM on February 24 [5 favorites]
Tbh, I wanted to change "ketamine-laced porridge" to "amphetamine-laced porridge" but the edit window expired. I agree that it's far more likely that his non-ket drug usage -- I'm guessing amphetamines & cocaine, just like the original Nazis used -- is causing more damage to his psyche than ketamine.
posted by mhum at 12:09 PM on February 24 [5 favorites]
I really wish people would quit blaming the ketamine. Ketamine doesn't do that shit.
I don't think anyone is blaming the Ketamine for his actual underlying piece-of-shit personality or behavior but it absolutely can cause a user to disassociate, feel a sort of unhooked euphoria, and just sort of all 'round make a person not terrifically sensitive to the reality around them.
(Did...nobody else do recreational Special K in the late 90s? No, properly-prescribed and indicated Ketamine doesn't fuck your shit up but does anyone here think THAT is what he is/has been doing? That's just why he admits to it -- it's semi-legalized now and formerly-illegal substances like K are very trendy among that whole biohacking microdosing productivitymaxxxing community.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:01 PM on February 24
I don't think anyone is blaming the Ketamine for his actual underlying piece-of-shit personality or behavior but it absolutely can cause a user to disassociate, feel a sort of unhooked euphoria, and just sort of all 'round make a person not terrifically sensitive to the reality around them.
(Did...nobody else do recreational Special K in the late 90s? No, properly-prescribed and indicated Ketamine doesn't fuck your shit up but does anyone here think THAT is what he is/has been doing? That's just why he admits to it -- it's semi-legalized now and formerly-illegal substances like K are very trendy among that whole biohacking microdosing productivitymaxxxing community.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:01 PM on February 24
Being largely unfamiliar with major drugs and their actual effects on people as opposed to Hollywood's idea of their effects, I will confess I said ketamine because it's what he admits to using and it stuck in my brain.
posted by sotonohito at 4:44 PM on February 24
posted by sotonohito at 4:44 PM on February 24
« Older How you can be active in politics, protest and... | We're wrong about emotional labour Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
That he also cheats at games is utterly unsurprising.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 11:49 AM on February 22 [25 favorites]