Has Elon Musk Been Caught Posting On 4chan? Analyzing The Viral Rumor Surrounding 'Adrian Dittmann' Theories

A mildly wild rumor that Elon Musk has been recently active on 4chan has been circulating online, with many users sharing screenshots of someone posting as "Adrian Dittman," the name also used by Musk's alleged sock puppet account, and insisting that the person spending New Year's Day arguing with anonymous strangers online is indeed Musk.

"Anyone could be doing that," you might think, and you wouldn't be wrong, except that "Dittmann" in question purportedly shared a screenshot that revealed they have admin privileges on X / Twitter … or so it seems?

Let's dig deeper into the viral rumor and see if it has any legs.

Who Is Adrian Dittman?

Adrian Dittmann is the nickname used by X / Twitter account @AdrianDittmann, launched in July 2021, who many suspect is one of Elon Musk's alternative accounts (known as a "sock puppet account").

Over the years since the account was created, lots of indirect evidence supporting this widespread theory came to light, including but not limited to a supposedly strong similarity in the sounds of Dittmann's and Musk's voices, their speech patterns and the lingo they frequently use.

Dittmann and Musk have also interacted on X / Twitter more than a few times, and Dittmann came to Musk's defense on more than just one occasion over the years, so many people believe that the two might be one person and that the fake account is being used to glaze him.

Where Does The Rumor That Elon Musk Posts On 4chan Come From?

Claims that Elon Musk frequents 4chan were made in the past way even before the most recent development. For example, there have been suspicions that Musk himself leaked news about Twitter introducing a view rate limit on the site in July 2023 one day before the official announcement was made.

However, the most recent theory seemingly offers more evidence than just timing and access to insider information. But before we dive into that, you need to know how what a tripcode is.

While 4chan is an anonymous website by default, a user can opt to verify their identity by creating a tripcode. A tripcode is a form of user identification that verifies that the same user is making the posts. On 4chan, a tripcode would appear as a string of symbols next to a nickname that stays consistent between the posts made by the same user.

The user, who on January 1st, 2025, was posting as "Adrian Dittmann" and is suspected to have been Elon Musk, was using a tripcode (!AshKOb5.II). Therefore, all the posts made by them on the website can easily be traced.

This is the first post "Dittmann" made in a thread discussing the recent H-1B Visa controversy, which put Musk under fire from many right-wing members and which 4chan's /pol/ had some strong opinions about.

While anyone can pretend to be Adrian Dittmann and it doesn't actually indicate anything, one piece of evidence, whether left accidentally or deliberately planted, caught everyone's attention and launched the rumor that it was supposedly Musk himself who was posting on /pol/.

In one of their posts, "Dittman" argued that graphic content was permitted on X, posting a screenshot of a topical quote post made by Musk. However, the screenshot also showed what looked like an admin panel, indicating that whoever posted the screenshot allegedly had admin privileges on X / Twitter.

As other users noticed the supposed mistake, "Dittman" quickly wiped all their posts from the imageboard. Regardless, they are still readily available on 4chan archives such as 4plebs.

What Has "Adrian Dittmann" Posted On 4chan?

While there is no hard evidence confirming the true identity of the person who was posting as "Adrian Dittman," all posts made by them in the thread are still publicly available.

"Dittmann" made a total of eight posts, all of them in the same thread on 4chan's /pol/ board. Typical of Dittman from X / Twitter, the 4chan "Dittman" comes to Elon Musk's defense in the thread, calling the billionaire "a friend of 4chan."

In another post, "Dittmann" seems to threaten users with Elon Musk buying out 4chan, after which the site will get "audio and video upload support and other much needed upgrades."

In other posts, "Dittmann" argues with other users, calling one of them a "maggot" and urging them to "take some painkillers and get back to the trailer with [their] alcoholic sister," which appears to be quite polite by /pol/ standards.

So, Is The Viral Rumor True Or False?

It is highly unlikely that the poster is indeed Elon Musk, though no one can say for sure. The strongest argument that can be made supporting the theory is that the screenshot shared by the poster seems to reveal that they have admin privileges on X / Twitter. However; the poster might simply be an X employee, or, even more likely, the screenshot could have simply been doctored.

Many of the viral posts attempting to prove the rumor also received Community Notes from various X users offering reasons as to why it was potentially false, such as one from January 2nd, 2025, that claimed a user who's an admin or owner of a community on the platform will see community controls displayed on their page, which look similar to administrator tools.

Moreover, the misuse of 4chan lingo and violations of imageboard etiquette made by the poster seem to be deliberate, planted to provide others with ammo against Musk as soon as the connection is made and the news breaks out, which it did. The timing of the incident, which coincided with the H-1B Visa controversy, also seems off to those skeptical of the situation.

Finally, why would Elon Musk use a tripcode and then post a screenshot of their X account on a website that is supposed to be anonymous, in the very first thread he decides to post as well?

It all seems rather unlikely, which doesn't mean that Mr. Musk couldn't be using 4chan anyway, just in a more covert and careful manner.