Cyberpunk 2077 dev officially kills Elon Musk cameo theory: "Who came up with this nonsense?"

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Screenshot
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The topic of whether business magnate Elon Musk is truly in Cyberpunk 2077 can finally be put to rest, as a CD Projekt Red developer has confirmed that he definitely isn't.

In the years since Cyberpunk 2077 originally launched, the internet has been rife with speculation about whether a certain NPC is modeled after Musk. The NPC appears very briefly in the game and is hardly the point of focus in that one scene, but it's been enough to convince some folks that it's definitely Musk himself, especially since the recent revelation that the Twitter, ahem, X, CEO, demanded he be added into the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 senior quest designer Patrick K. Mills has officially confirmed it isn't him. In a reply to a fan who noticed the Elon Musk doppelganger has apparently been removed from the game, Mills said, "That wasn't Elon musk, it looks nothing like him. Who came up with this nonsense?"

Personally, I'm inclined to agree with Mills here. The NPC bears a vague resemblance to Musk and just about every other middle-aged white dude with brown hair. Zoomed in, the NPC's face actually looks very little like Musk's. Here's a comparison shot put together by Kazuliski, the YouTuber behind the above video breaking down the fan theory:

Cyberpunk 2077 Elon Musk

(Image credit: Kazuliski)

Almost nothing alike, right? And now with Mills' comment, it's safe to say any real or imagined resemblance between this Cyberpunk 2077 NPC and Musk is pure coincidence. Time for bed, internet rumor.

Check out our Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty review if you need help deciding whether you should give the game another shot (you probably should).

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.