Elon Musk Briefly Changed His Name on Social Media and People Have Some Theories About It

Elon Musk is apparently drawn to unusual names. Take some of his children, for example. He reportedly has at least 12 kids with various partners. By far the most unorthodox names are those of the three children he shares with Grimes. Their older son, born in May 2020, is named X Æ A-Xii. While discussing this with Joe Rogan on his podcast, Elon said the couple landed on this name together.

"It’s just X, the letter X, and then the ‘Æ’ is pronounced, ‘Ash,’ and then, ‘A-12’ is my contribution," he said.

A little over a year later, they welcomed their daughter into the world and named her Exa Dark Sideræl. In March 2022, Grimes explained to Vanity Fair that her daughter's name is pronounced "sigh-deer-ee-el." And last but not least, Techno Mechanicus Musk was born in June 2022.

In January 2025, Elon briefly changed his name on social media to Kekius Maximus, which feels like a mashup of ancient Greece and a techno demigod. What does it mean? Here's what we know.

To no one's surprise, the name change occurred on X (formerly Twitter) and accompanied an avatar update as well. This quick profile makeover happened on New Year's Day and involved an image of Pepe the Frog wearing armor that mimicked that of a gladiator. Pepe first appeared in 2005 and according to the Anti-Defamation League, though its use isn't always bigoted, it has become a popular mascot for the alt-right.

Musk then posted a rather cryptic message to X. "Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE," he wrote above the image of Pepe the Frog. A couple of users in the replies got into a debate over the meaning of PoE.

"For those curious; 'PoE' stands for 'Path of Exile,' which is an online action role-playing game (ARPG) developed by Grinding Gear Games," said @AfricanTechie_. Another chimed in and said that based on the capitalization of the P and E, this actually meant "Power over Ethernet."

"Noted, but you're wrong," responded the first commenter. The second took his query to Gronk, which said both are right though the Power over Ethernet theory was ranking above the other. Those were followed by Proof of Employment, Port of Entry, and Principles of Economics.

Some folks believed Elon was referencing the Kekius Maximus cryptocurrency. According to an overzealous definition on Coin Market Cap, it's a "meme coin made for X, capturing the viral energy and chaos that thrives on the platform.

Born from Elon's favorite meme, it’s a perfect fit for the X community — where memes and crypto collide!" That's a lot to absorb.

The prevailing theory is the Pepe the Frog avatar is Elon's character in Path of Exile. Once again, an X user took to Grok for some clarity. Per @FATCAed's research, reaching level 80 means "the character or player named Kekius Maximus is close to achieving level 80 in the game. In many RPGs (Role-Playing Games), leveling up indicates progression, gaining new abilities, or increasing stats."

The word "hardcore is merely referring to the stakes of the game. Is this really the best use of the internet?