Musk flummoxes internet with 'Kekius Maximus' persona
Hindustan TimesElon Musk adopted the moniker "Kekius Maximus" on X Tuesday, sparking speculation among his 210 million followers about his mysterious new handle that is a mash-up of an alt-right symbol, a memecoin, and the lead character of the movie "Gladiator." HT Image Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and a confidant of US President-elect Donald Trump, also replaced his profile picture with one of "Pepe the Frog," a popular cartoon character, wearing ancient Roman attire and holding a video game joystick. His new handle appears to be a blend of "Maximus Decimus Meridius" a Roman general played by Russell Crowe in the 2000 smash hit "Gladiator" and "kek," an expression popular among the alt-right and internet trolls that is used as a variation of "LOL," or laugh out loud. Before changing his handle, Musk posted a teaser on X: "Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE."