An X account claiming to represent Saxon James Musk, the son of Elon Musk, launched a Solana memecoin named $MAX that experienced a dramatic surge and collapse within a 48-hour window.
The sequence of events began on November 10, 2026, when Elon Musk followed the account, @ChainChomp131, which at the time had roughly 5,000 followers. The account subsequently launched the $MAX token on Solana around November 11 or 12. Utilizing a theme centered on a dog allegedly owned by the Musk family, the token climbed to a peak market cap of approximately $13 million within 48 hours.
However, the identity claim behind the account remained unverified, and the Musk family did not confirm or deny any connection. Shortly after the token's peak, Elon Musk unfollowed the account, triggering an 86% drop in the token's value that wiped out millions in market capitalization.
Following the price collapse, the account scrubbed its evidence by deleting promotional posts, including a video encouraging potential buyers to participate. On-chain analysis revealed that 47 wallets, organized into eight clusters, had accumulated about 16.8% of the total $MAX supply. Out of those wallets, 26 purchased the token within the first two minutes of launch, enabling operators to extract approximately $2 million in profit before the collapse. Individual traders reported substantial losses, with some accounts noting losses of up to $50,000 each.
The episode highlights recurring memecoin risks, including unverified identities, borrowed celebrity signals, and concentrated early holder bases where later buyers serve as exit liquidity.
