The change roiled the cryptocurrency world, sending the value of a memecoin - a digital currency inspired by an internet meme - with the same name skyrocketing.
It also sent internet sleuths hunting for answers: was the name change just for laughs? Was there a hidden message? Was this another thinlydisguised attempt to jolt the crypto markets?
Musk and X did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
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.
Pepe the Frog was originally a cartoon character from the Boy’s Club comic series.
But during Trump’s first presidential campaign, it became associated with the alt-right and white supremacists, with the Anti-Defamation League dubbing it a “hate symbol”.
“The majority of uses of Pepe the Frog have been, and continue to be, non-bigoted,” the ADL wrote on its website.
However, as the meme proliferated online, the meme was centred on “racist, anti-Semitic or other bigoted themes,” the ADL added.
Before changing his handle, Musk, 53, posted a teaser on X: “Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE”.
PoE is an apparent reference to the popular Path of Exile 2 video game.
The billionaire is known to play the game, calling it a “hall-of-famer” earlier this month in a post on X.
In the wake of Musk’s handle change, the memecoin Kekius Maximus’s value soared by more than 1600% as of Tuesday evening, according to the site CoinGecko.
The memecoin was trading at less than one-fifth of a US dollar in value at around 11am NZT.
In the past, Musk has sent crypto prices on a roller coaster ride with his social media commentary, but it was not immediately clear if he has any involvement in this particular memecoin.
The billionaire, an adviser to the incoming Trump administration, has been tapped to run the new Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with reducing government spending.
Musk’s account on X has become increasingly influential - and has often courted criticism for amplifying misinformation - since his purchase of the platform for US$44 billion ($78.6b) in 2022.
