Elon Musk did appear near the top 20 on a community leaderboard of submitted Diablo IV Pit runs in November 2024. That is narrower than being one of the 20 best players in the world: the list ranked submitted times, not every player, and Musk’s position changed quickly. The comparison to his self-driving cars is rhetorical; Tesla says its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature requires active driver supervision and does not make a vehicle autonomous.
What Musk said—and what the list showed
On November 4, 2024, during The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan asked Musk whether he was in Diablo’s “top 20 in the world.” Musk said yes and added that his real name appeared on the list. The claim was recorded; the important qualification is what “the list” measured.
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Contemporaneous reporting connected the claim to timed runs in the Pit, a Diablo IV endgame activity. Forbes reported on November 6 that Musk was #19 for timed Pit 150 runs, then updated its article to say he had fallen to #22 by the following day: Forbes’ report and update. TweakTown reported that Helltides.com showed him at #20 among 881 submitted runs: TweakTown’s account of the Helltides list.
| Report | Placement and scope | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Forbes, November 6, 2024, with a next-day update | #19 on a timed Pit 150 list; #22 in the update | A dated placement that changed quickly. |
| TweakTown, November 6, 2024 | #20 among 881 Helltides.com submissions | A position on that submitted-run list, not a count or ranking of Diablo IV players. |
The reports differ by one place, and Forbes’ update records a subsequent drop. The fair conclusion is that Musk was near the top 20 on a community list of submitted Pit times at that moment—not that he held a stable, universally recognized world ranking.
#1 Best Overall
Why “top 20 in the world” overstates the evidence
A community leaderboard based on submissions is not the same thing as an official ranking covering every player. The 881 figure refers to submitted runs on the list reported by TweakTown; it does not represent the Diablo IV player population. The available reporting does not establish how Musk’s placement compared with players who did not submit runs, nor does it establish a comprehensive world ranking.
- Official status: The reported Helltides list was community-run, not a definitive Blizzard ranking.
- What was counted: Submitted Pit-run times, rather than every player’s performance.
- When it applied: A November 2024 position, not a current standing.
Blizzard’s 2.5.0 PTR announcement describes a different Tower leaderboard beta scheduled for October 21–28, 2026. That is a prospective PTR schedule, and the Tower format is not the historical Helltides Pit-time list. It does not make Musk’s 2024 position a current rank: Blizzard’s 2.5.0 PTR announcement.
Rank #2
- LORD OF HATRED EXPANSION — Includes Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred Standard Edition and Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred. The Diablo IV base game is required to play.
- IN-GAME EXTRAS — Get 1 Extra Stash Tab, 2 Additional Character Slots, and 3 Decor Items in World of Warcraft.
- NEW CLASSES AND REGION — Master two new classes and explore the ancient region of Skovos in the Lord of Hatred expansion.
- ACTION RPG ADVENTURE — Slay demons, master abilities, explore nightmarish dungeons, and find legendary loot in a dark open world.
- NEW CAMPAIGN AGAINST MEPHISTO — Make your stand against the Prime Evil Mephisto in a rich new story featuring new enemies, regions, and narrative twists.
What later boosting reports do—and do not—prove
The Guardian later reported that a video showed a purported private exchange in which Musk acknowledged account boosting in Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2. The newspaper said it could not independently verify the transcript: The Guardian’s report.
That report is relevant context, but its stated verification caveat matters. It does not independently establish who completed a particular leaderboard run, including the run associated with a specific rank. The submitted-run placement and the later allegation should not be collapsed into a definitive claim about the person who played every run.
Rank #3
- Pre-order and receive:
- Light Bearer Mount in Diablo IV
- Only one code per customer
- Diablo IV is the next-gen action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish Dungeons, and legendary loot.
- Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story, or explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle World Bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players - no lobbies necessary - with cross-play and cross-progression on all available platforms.
What the self-driving comparison means
The title’s comparison is a rhetorical jab, not a factual equivalence between a game ranking and vehicle autonomy. Tesla’s own product description says: “Full Self-Driving (Supervised) requires active driver supervision with eyes on the road and does not make the vehicle autonomous.” Tesla’s description of Full Self-Driving (Supervised). That wording supports the limited point that the feature is supervised and does not make the car autonomous; it does not establish a particular promise, deadline, or delivery history.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.So, was Musk really a top-20 Diablo IV player?
In the narrow, dated sense, yes: contemporaneous reports placed him at #19 or #20 on a community leaderboard of submitted Pit runs in November 2024. In the broader sense implied by “one of the top 20 players in the world,” the evidence does not establish that. The list was unofficial, submission-based, and its reported rank shifted within a day.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
- Diablo IV is the next-gen action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish Dungeons, and legendary loot
- Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story
- Explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle World Bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players
- No lobbies necessary - with cross-play and cross-progression on all available platforms
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