I am Maximus: Musk turns into a frog for followers

Tech mogul, DOGE chief and Mar-a-Lago fixture Elon Musk offered no explanation for his New Year’s Eve name change on X, which appears to be part Gladiator and part Pepe the Frog meme.

Elon Musk's short-lived mystery X altar ego, Kekius Maximus

Elon Musk has started speculation among his social media followers after he changed his name on X to Kekius Maximus on New Year’s Eve, before reverting to his regular identity Thursday morning (AEDT).

The tech mogul, who saw in the new year with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, also changed his profile avatar to a picture of Pepe the Frog, a character clad in gladiator-like armour and holding a video game console.

"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

Mr Musk, 53, offered no immediate explanation for the name change, which appeared to allude to Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator. Pepe the Frog, which started life as a cartoon in the Boy’s Club comic series, has been adopted by far-right groups.

Mr Musk teased supporters with an apparent reference to the Path of Exile 2 video game, which he is known to play. He has posted memes of himself in Roman armour in the weeks since Mr Trump’s election.

Elon Musk holds his son on his shoulders as he attends a New Year's Eve event held by US President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Reuters

Kekius Maximus is also the name of a “memecoin”, a cryptocurrency based on an online meme. Mr Musk’s social media posts often cause ripples in the crypto market, and the value of the Kekius Maximus coin rose by more than 900 per cent on Tuesday, according to the Coin Gecko website.

Mr Musk has been appointed to lead a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), cutting billions of dollars from the federal budget.

Mr Trump and Mr Musk celebrated the new year, surrounded by supporters.

Mr Trump arrived with his wife, Melania. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, 47, made his first public appearance with his new girlfriend, Bettina Anderson, 38, a Palm Beach socialite.

Mr Musk, who is reported to be staying at a $US2000-a-night ($3200) villa at Mar-a-Lago, carried his young son, also named X, on his shoulders at the event.

The Times