Why Elon Musk has become 'Kekius Maximus' on X? Name change triggers intense speculation

The name change has sparked widespread curiosity since Musk, who has over 210 million followers on the platform he owns, did not give an official explanation behind the move

Elon Musk is no longer "Elon Musk" on X (formerly Twitter).

The billionaire tech mogul caused a stir on the microblogging platform this week by changing his profile name to "Kekius Maximus". He also updated his display picture to feature an image of Pepe the Frog dressed in a gladiator armor.

The name change has sparked widespread curiosity since Musk, who has over 210 million followers on the platform he owns, did not give an official explanation behind the move. This turned social media into an open field, with many speculating reasons behind the name change.

Online observers pointed out that "Kekius Maximus" seems to be a mix of the infamous meme character "Pepe the Frog" and Russell Crowe's gladiator character "Maximus Decimus Meridius" from the 2000 film "Gladiator".

Brothers in Arms pic.twitter.com/vIZ8ADrXbo
Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) December 31, 2024

The new profile image of Musk shows Pepe holding a video game controller and wearing golden armor. This prompted theories that it may have some connection to the gaming world, especially after Musk teased in a post: "Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE". He was referring to the game Path of Exile 2.

Some even conneccted the name to cryptocurrency since "Kekius Maximus" is also the name of a memecoin.

Notably, the cryptocurrency’s value had zoomed by over 900% after Musk changed his name even though it remains unclear whether the Tesla owner is directly involved with the coin.

Moreover, the theory gained further traction with users since Musk has a history of influencing the crypo market and famously supported Dogecoin in the past, which too saw a remarkable surge in its value.

Some are also speculating that Musk may be behind a super-fan burner account on X, operating under the name Adrian Dittmann.

"I am Kekius Maximus, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, servant to the vision of human progress. Father of many innovations, husband to the idea of interplanetary life. And I will achieve my goals, in this era or the next."@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/ALdsceaaSY Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) December 31, 2024

The account was linked to the "Kekius Maximus" saga which has further addedto the mystery since Musk retweeted a post from Dittmann that humorously referenced the situation.

Despite these rumors, Musk has denied any connection to the account and mocked those who believe he is behind it.

He also retweeted a New York Post article on X which proposed reasons behind the name change. Along with the retweet, Musk wrote "Kek".