Elon Musk Triggers Meme Coin Rally With ‘Gorklon Rust’ Rebranding on X

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has changed his X (formerly Twitter) display name to “gorklon rust” and updated his profile picture to a Gork-inspired meme.

This move has triggered a rally in Gork-themed tokens. Furthermore, several new “gorklon rust” tokens were quickly created, with some experiencing price spikes of up to 7,000%. Notably, Gork’s follower count on X also jumped sharply, rising from around 86,000 to over 113,000.

Meme Coin Market Reacts Strongly to Elon Musk’s ‘Gorklon Rust’ Name Shift

For context, Gork is a parody account of xAI’s AI chatbot Grok. Known for its humorous and unconventional responses, Gork has cultivated a dedicated following on X, including Musk. The Tesla CEO announced the display name change on May 4, posting:

“Sup Gork changed my pp to urs wdyt.”

Gork’s response to Musk’s post added further fuel to the viral moment.

“Looks good, I guess. But did u have to copy my whole face like that smh,” Gork wrote.

Elon Musk’s Username Change to Gorklon Rust. Source: X/Elon Musk

What followed was a cascade of market activity as meme coins tied to the “gork” theme experienced unprecedented volatility. Data from DexScreener revealed that a meme coin named New XAI Gork (GORK) surged by 58.7%. 

Its market capitalization exceeded $64 million. The token also secured the number two spot on CoinGecko’s trending list. 

GORK Tokens Performance. Source: DexScreener

But the frenzy didn’t stop there. Shortly after, several new meme coins under the “gorklon rust” label were created. According to the latest data, these small-cap tokens saw even more staggering gains, with some surging between 4,000% and 7,000% within 24 hours. 

Trading volumes for these tokens spiked, reflecting heightened speculative interest driven by Musk’s actions.

Gorklon Rust Tokens Performance. Source: DexScreener

Nonetheless, the hype appears to be cooling off just as quickly. Within the past hour, several tokens have dropped sharply in price, highlighting the highly volatile and risky nature of meme coin trading, where rapid reversals are as common as sudden rallies.

Meanwhile, this latest episode mirrors Musk’s previous meme-fueled market moves. In late 2024, his adoption of the “Kekius Maximus” persona led to a 504% uptick in the KEKIUS meme coin. 

Likewise, Elon Musk’s username change to “Harry Bolz” in February 2025 triggered a 3,000% surge in the HARRYBOLZ meme coin, as reported by BeInCrypto. Furthermore, Musk’s “Dogefather” antics similarly propelled related tokens to significant gains.

While Musk’s latest move has generated buzz and profits for some, it also underlines the speculative nature of meme coins, where gains can be as fleeting as the trends that drive them.