Elon Musk’s $1 Billion Offer To Wikipedia For Changing Name To ‘Dickipedia’, Still Stands | Read

New York: Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and owner of X (formerly Twitter), continues to stir up conversations in the digital world with his latest controversial offer capturing widespread attention. Musk has once again put forward a proposal to Wikipedia, offering a whopping $1 billion (approximately Rs 8,539 crore) if the online encyclopedia agrees to change its name.

The saga began when a social media user, known as Doge Designer, who frequently engages with Musk on X, reminded the public of Musk’s past offer. The post read, “Elon Musk once offered Wikipedia $1 billion to change its name to ‘Dickipedia’.” Musk, ever active on the platform, confirmed the offer was still on the table.

This latest development stems from Musk’s ongoing criticism of Wikipedia and its parent organisation, the Wikimedia Foundation. In 2023, he had publically questioned the financial practices of the Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia. Musk expressed skepticism over their extensive fundraising efforts, questioning, “Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation needs so much money? Wikipedia certainly doesn’t need it to operate. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone! So, what’s the money for?”

Musk’s remarks about the organisation and its financial needs led to the infamous $1 billion offer, suggesting that Wikipedia should rebrand itself in exchange for the substantial sum.

Musk’s proposal sparked mixed reactions, with some seeing it as a lighthearted offer and others interpreting it as part of his ongoing critique of digital platforms and their funding models. Whether this is a serious bid or just another Musk provocation remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the world is paying attention.