By Key Points
- Musk’s GORK meme coin missed $100M, showing fading Elon Musk meme coin influence.
- Market saturation with new meme coins dilutes his impact
- Recent Musk-driven tokens see only short-lived surges
- Analysts say the Musk meme coin era may be ending
Elon Musk’s power to skyrocket meme coins was legendary. From Dogecoin (DOGE) to Floki, his tweets once added billions in market cap overnight.
But 2025 tells a different story. Musk’s latest Solana (SOL)-based meme coin, GORK, surged briefly in early May. His “Gorklon Rust” profile picture stunt pushed GORK from $45 million to $75 million in market cap. Yet, it soon slipped to $65 million and now struggles at $35 million, according to CoinGecko.
Pretty wild that not even Elon Musk changing his pfp has a significant impact anymore:$GORK went from $45M to $75M market cap, and now back to $65M.
Reminds me of when he posted a Milady almost exactly two years ago, floor price went from 3.9 ETH to 7.5 ETH and then back to 4… pic.twitter.com/uspdedTveq
— wale.moca 🐳 (@waleswoosh) May 5, 2025
This shift highlights a growing reality: Musk’s influence no longer guarantees massive gains.
Oversaturation Is Diluting Musk’s Impact
Experts blame market saturation. The number of meme coins has exploded, spreading investor money thin. Unlike 2021, when Musk’s nod could rally a few select coins, today’s flood of tokens weakens each endorsement’s power.
Crypto analyst Ajay Kashyap noted, “Elon Musk used to move billions with a single tweet. Now, even changing his profile pic barely moves micro-cap coins. Investors are fatigued.”
Notice how Elon Musk used to move billions in market cap with a single tweet & now him even changing his pfp can’t even add $50M to already super low trading memecoins 🫠
It means that people are really getting tired and moving on from chasing the next memecoin 🤔 pic.twitter.com/oeyZdn2Kwf
— Ajay Kashyap (@EverythingAjay) May 6, 2025
The crypto community has evolved too. Major updates like the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade (learn more) and growing attention to Bitcoin’s FOMC-driven price action (read here) show that serious traders are focusing on technology and macroeconomics—not just memes.
Short-Lived Pumps and Fading Rallies
Recent Musk-driven meme coins have struggled to maintain momentum.
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February 2025: Musk’s Harry Bōlz rebrand spiked HARRYBOLZ to just $9.5 million.
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December 2024: Musk endorsed “Kekius Maximus.” KEKIUS peaked at $88 million.
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May 2025: GORK briefly hit $75 million but tumbled soon after.
Compare this to DOGE’s 2021 rallies where billions flowed in, not millions.
“Notice how Musk used to create billion-dollar moves,” said analyst Him. “Now, even dedicated social media campaigns can’t sustain gains beyond a day or two.”
Does this count as a sentient meme?
Either this still has time to run, or Musk doesn’t quite have the same effect on the Memecoin market like DOGE in 2021 https://t.co/AnqzYXbuaO pic.twitter.com/Aez8vFwtH4
— s4mmy (@S4mmyEth) May 4, 2025
Copycats Are Undermining Investor Confidence
Every Musk-backed meme coin now triggers a wave of copycat tokens. Platforms like Pump.fun enable fast creation of clones.
if there is one lesson you need to ram hard into your heads
it is this:
DON’T EVER FADE ELON MUSK
Elon is literally the single most powerful player in the world today when it comes to starting memecoin movements
he has inspired/fueled the biggest memecoin movements in the… https://t.co/sKHbu04jef pic.twitter.com/vD46LcfKC2
— Unipcs (aka ‘Bonk Guy’) 🎒 (@theunipcs) September 20, 2024
After GORK’s launch, dozens of Gorklon Rust knockoffs flooded the market. Similar trends followed with Kekius Maximus and Harry Bōlz. These clones split investor funds and often turn into pump-and-dump scams, damaging trust.
“Copycats confuse investors and suck up liquidity,” explained crypto analyst Ajay Kashyap. “This stops the main coin from rallying sustainably.”
Investors Are Shifting Focus to Solid Projects
Many investors are moving away from meme coins toward projects with strong fundamentals.
The recent Movement Labs rebrand (full story) drew significant investor interest, highlighting a trend toward serious development teams and long-term visions.
Similarly, legal clarity—like the Worldcoin Kenya ruling (details here)—and concerns over XRP price suppression (read more) are steering traders toward regulatory-compliant projects.
This maturing market environment is reducing appetite for high-risk meme tokens, even when pushed by influential figures like Musk.
Musk’s Influence: Still Strong but Not Supreme
Despite these challenges, Elon Musk remains a powerful voice in the crypto space. His endorsements still spark curiosity and brief market activity.
“He can still cause a blip,” said one market watcher. “But the days of him single-handedly creating crypto juggernauts appear to be over.”
State of alt liquidity: Elon Musk, with 200M followers, shills a meme — barely pushing it over $50M.
— him (@himgajria) May 3, 2025
Musk’s backing now results in short-term pumps rather than long-term growth. This signals a broader industry trend—crypto investors are becoming more discerning.
As the market matures, the hype-driven strategies that worked in the past are losing effectiveness.
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