Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), has made a surprising proposition to Wikipedia, offering a staggering $1 billion if the online encyclopedia agrees to a name change to ‘Dickipedia.’ Musk framed this proposal as being “in the interests of accuracy” and added the condition that the new name must stick for at least a year.
I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia https://t.co/wxoHQdRICy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2023
Elon Musk has been in the news ever since his takeover of Twitter, which was later changed to X. “I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia”. “I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia,” he declared, emphasizing his intent to ensure accuracy.
Some X users rallied behind the idea, urging Wikipedia to accept the generous donation. Political journalist Ed Krassenstein chimed in, suggesting that they could always revert to their original name after securing the funds. Musk responded with a one-year minimum requirement, saying, “I mean, I’m not a fool lol.”
One year minimum. I mean, I’m a not fool lol.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2023
Previous conflicts in the past between Musk and Jimmy Wales
This clash isn’t the first between Elon Musk and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. Previously, Wales criticized Musk for allegedly censoring Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s critics right before the presidential election in Turkey. Wales pointed out that when Wikipedia faced similar pressures, they stood their ground and even took the matter to Turkey’s Supreme Court, underscoring the importance of upholding freedom of speech as a fundamental principle, not just a slogan.