Elon Musk Says He’ll Give $1 Billion Reward If Wikipedia Changes Its Name Entrepreneur Elon Musk has made $1 billion if Wikipedia changes its name. Musk made this proposal in October 2023, expressing his anger at Wikipedia. Musk replied to one of X’s posts, saying that the proposal is still open.
An X handle named ‘Dodge Designer’ uploaded a post in which Musk proposed changing the name of Wikipedia. Musk replied to it, saying that the proposal is true and is still open.
Musk had proposed changing the name of the world-famous encyclopedia Wikipedia to ‘Dicipedia’ (a name with a male genital suffix). Musk had announced that he would provide a large sum of money, specifically targeting Wikipedia’s economic priorities and political leanings.
Why is Musk angry with Wikipedia?
In an ex-post last year, Musk questioned and criticized the financial practices of the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia. He wrote, “Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation needs so much money? It doesn’t take that much money to run Wikipedia. You can have the entire text on your phone, so why is this money needed?”
Musk has long been concerned about how large organizations spend their money, especially nonprofits like the Wikimedia Foundation. Musk suspects that resources are wasted on things that are not the primary purpose of running Wikipedia.
Musk had sarcastically offered to donate $1 billion if Wikipedia were willing to change its name. The Wikimedia Foundation earned $177 million in 2023-2024. Musk has been further critical after learning that more than $50 million was spent on diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives.
Musk’s criticism has fueled a wider debate about the “diversity, equality, and inclusion” policy, which some critics see as a diversion from reverse discrimination and a merit-based system.
Musk has also expressed concern about Wikipedia’s perceived political leanings. Analysts have said that Wikipedia’s content has a left-wing bias and risks influencing political agendas. Musk’s comments have reignited discussions about the impartiality, financial transparency, and institutional priorities of platforms like Wikipedia.
