The real Adrian Dittmann

A conspiracy theory is raging that the Adrian Dittmann X account is secretly run by Elon Musk, but evidence points to it belonging to an Elon Musk fan… named Adrian Dittmann.

No, “Adrian Dittmann” on X is not Elon. He appears to be, in fact, Adrian Dittmann, a German Musk fan living in Fiji, according to a Spectator analysis of his posts, social media, deleted content, AI art, comments on Spaces and unique biographical details.

Yet many in American media and countless Musk critics are convinced the Dittmann X account is a secret “alt” account run by Musk himself, a claim that both the Dittmann account and Musk himself have denied for years. With a recent resurgence of this theory breaking into mainstream news over the holidays, the two now seem to be enjoying it as an epic troll of the media and Musk’s liberal adversaries.

Newsweek, the New Republic and Rolling Stone are just some of the news outlets that spilled ink in recent days wondering if Dittmann was an elaborate Musk hoax. Major social media influencers such as Pekka Kallioniemi posted threads on X examining if Dittmann was Musk that garnered millions of views. On Friday, the Verge even ran a piece headlined, “New evidence suggests Elon Musk is cosplaying his superfan Adrian Dittmann,” before softening the headline after an X employee told the outlet that the “evidence” was likely doctored.

The real-life Dittmann is the son of a German software entrepreneur who has launched several businesses in Fiji, including a forestry venture, a bottled water company and a marina and yachting facility. One of those companies entered the Musk Foundation’s $100 million Xprize Carbon Removal contest the same month the Dittmann X account was created, in July 2021.

X’s Adrian Dittmann said he participated in the Musk Foundation carbon removal contest during an April 2023 Space, noting how Musk had “even spent, I think, $100 million US on a project that is supposed to reduce carbon emissions… We even, I even, took part in it.”

In July 2023, Musk and X’s Dittmann spoke to each other on an X Space, and X’s Dittmann explained his unique upbringing and accent: “I grew up in Gibraltar, lived in Morocco for a few years,” he said. He also said, “I can tell you I’m in Oceania,” when asked where he lived, but didn’t want to offer more specifics. Last night, on another X Space, he claimed he is in his twenties.

The Fiji-based German Dittmann fits this unique biography — his father lived for a period of time in Gibraltar, where his company has an office, according to a 2000 UK business filing for the software company that lists his country of residence as Gibraltar.

The family relocated to Fiji at some point after 2012, when a company founded by Dittmann’s father, Totoka Islands, scouted Fiji as a place “to invest in a forestry and farming development in the Tropics,” according to local news reports.

“Originally from Germany, Mr. Dittmann has invested more than FJD 50 million in developing commercial agroforestry operations in remote areas of Fiji,” the Fijian government announced. The family recently opened a solar-powered maritime lifestyle service warehouse for superyachts.

Fiji’s Adrian Dittmann in Fiji has a Google Maps profile with a profile picture of a young blonde man with a young woman. That woman is also tagged in his family members and family business social media accounts, appears in hand-holding couple photos on a Facebook account with the name Adrian Dittmann and alongside Dittmann in a Fijian government video of a recent grand opening ceremony for the Dittmann family’s latest venture, the maritime retail space.

That woman bears a resemblance to several pieces of AI artwork the Dittmann X account created and posted of his “significant other.” Dittmann on X replied to a comment explaining that the woman in the AI artwork was Filipina, just as Fiji Dittmann’s partner is, based on social media posts from her family members in Fiji.

Dittmann’s parents appear to be big Elon Musk fans, judging by their X accounts, often replying to Musk, suggesting he invest in Fiji and showing off a brand new white Model X Tesla at their water-bottling headquarters. The company sells their bottled mineral water in Melbourne, Australia, and posted photos of the water transported in Fiji in the white Model X Tesla. In August 2021, the Dittmann X account posted about how it felt to ride in a Tesla Model X, a post it later deleted.

X’s Dittmann posted last year about visiting Australia: “A few years ago, I was there to inspect some machinery at a warehouse in the forest, and I saw a spider the size of a dinner plate.”

At the grand opening ceremony for the Dittmanns’ new maritime center, former president Wiliame Katonivere of Fiji can be seen greeting the Dittmann family, shaking hands with Adrian Dittmann. 

X’s Adrian Dittmann posted about first getting Starlink on June 9, 2024. Starlink became operational in Fiji in May 2024, with Musk meeting President Katonivere in May and again in October.

The Dittmann X account also deleted a 2021 post showing a sunset photograph that looks like it was taken in a tropical location with palm trees. The account has posted from a time zone that is UTC+12 hours, with at least three screenshots showing a local time and date ahead of when the screenshotted content was posted. The corresponding time zone covers several Oceanic nations, including Fiji.

In an X Space Dittmann hosted in December 2023, he spoke while visiting a factory then driving in the rain to get a part from a repairman from his repair shop for a “machine,” noting being annoyed that he was getting calls from salespeople during his task. That was four hours into the Space which began at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, so at 10 p.m. EST, but at 3 p.m. Fiji time, where it was raining that afternoon, based on historical weather data. 

X’s Dittmann has written in German on the account, and referred to himself as German and European several times. The profile picture of Adrian Dittmann on X also resembles Fiji’s Adrian Dittmann, just put through an AI filter or two.

The Dittmann X account often hosts Spaces where he shows himself cooking steak and Paleo-type meals (he posted that switching to a mostly-meat diet helped cure his acne) using a cookware brand sold in Germany. 

Power outlets visible in the videos are Type 1 outlets, mainly used in Australia, Argentina, Chile and Pacific Island nations including Fiji.

The chef’s left hand shows a thin gold band and distinctive long fingernails, just like Fiji Dittmann’s hands seen in photos and videos of him. The floor seen in the cooking Spaces also matches the floor of a home posted by Fiji Adrian Dittmann’s brother on Instagram.

Three recordings of Spaces showing X’s Dittmann cooking from 2023 and 2024 were deleted by the account within hours of The Spectator reaching out to Fiji’s Dittmann asking about those videos and other content. (The Spectator had not yet contacted the X account at the time the account began deleting the content in question.)

Publicly viewable photos of Dittmann and his partner were also deleted from his Facebook soon after The Spectator emailed Dittmann for comment. Emails to Dittmann in Fiji were not returned. 

Fiji’s Dittmann was photographed on a boat trip with friends and family in an Instagram picture posted by his brother, seen using a Samsung sitting on the boat. X’s Dittmann also uses a Samsung, seen in his videos. One X livestream by Dittmann even showed the Samsung connected to a 4G network, not 5G. In Fiji, 5G is not yet available.

Multiple news outlets and pundits have spent recent weeks covering the ongoing social media theorizing that Dittmann is Musk’s “alt account,” fueled by preconceived notions and no real evidence. 

Since 2023, the Dittmann X account has hosted live Spaces, chatting with other X users in an Anglicized German-sounding accent that some Americans consider indistinguishable from Musk’s speech, but has been described as sounding German by other German speakers.

Musk did operate at least two confirmed “alt” accounts according to a recent lawsuit, but Musk and Dittmann have denied being one and the same for years, even doing the X Space together to prove it in July 2023. 

Yet BlueAnon conspiracists were not dissuaded by the joint Space, some speculating that Musk pulled some kind of technological trick to talk to himself as “Adrian.” People looked for anagrams of Adrian Dittmann for clues he was Elon. Reporters started threads arguing Dittmann was Musk because they both laughed at the same X post in the span of a few minutes.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy continues unabated, fueled by unverified 4chan accounts and endless posts on X, like a “voice analysis” shared by a former cybersecurity and digital espionage reporter for the New York Times by purporting to prove Musk and Dittmann are the same person. All while Musk posts roasts of “legacy media” and calls those who believe that he is Dittmann “subtards.”