--- title: "Elon Musk Is Now Bullying Wikipedia" description: "Elon Musk, a 52-year-old centibillionaire, offered this weekend to pay Wikipedia one billion dollars to change its name to Dickipedia." date: "2023-10-23" modified: "2023-10-23" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-bullying-wikipedia" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "twitter" - "wikipedia" --- # Elon Musk Is Now Bullying Wikipedia ![Elon Musk, a 52-year-old centibillionaire, offered this weekend to pay Wikipedia one billion dollars to change its name to Dickipedia.]() *\Image: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty/Futurism\* ## Concerning Because purchasing the website formerly known as Twitter for $44 billion apparently [wasn't enough](), billionaire Elon Musk has now offered to give one billion dollars to Wikipedia — but that billion would come at a high, and very dumb, price. "I will give them a billion dollars," Musk, a 52-year-old man, [wrote]() in a Sunday post to X-formerly-Twitter, "if they change their name to Dickipedia." The explicit offer was made amid a flurry of posts denigrating the online encyclopedia, in which the [oft-tin-foil-hatted]() Musk implied that the Wikimedia Foundation, or the operating nonprofit body that supports Wikipedia, is being shady about its own finances. "Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money?" Musk [wrote]() in a separate thread, alleging that "it certainly isn't needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone!" "So, what's the money for?" the billionaire pondered. "Inquiring minds want to know..." ## Community Owns But as X users were quick to point out in the platform's "Community Notes" feature, Wikimedia is actually very transparent about how its finances are directed. Though Musk seemingly thinks otherwise, running a massive platform like Wikipedia, which is open-access and free to anyone online, is no small feat. Sure, the troves of text found on Wikipedia's pages might be able to fit on a smartphone, but effectively managing Wikipedia pages and their [incredibly high user traffic numbers]() is another beast entirely; as explained by Wikimedia on its clearly-marked "[Where Your Money Goes]()" page, about 43 percent of its budget goes to website support, an effort that includes "ongoing engineering improvements, product development, design and research, and legal support" in addition to basic server maintenance. According to Wikimedia, the rest of its budget goes to supporting its large community of writers, editors, and other volunteers, as well as administrative tasks and further fundraising efforts, as Wikipedia remains ad-free and donation-funded. ## Shoulder Chipper It's worth recalling that Musk has some fairly recent beef with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. Back in May, Musk was [accused of throttling access to negative tweets]() about Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, by request of Turkey's censorship-happy government itself, a decision that seemed to fly in the face of the "free speech absolutism" that Musk claims to subscribe to. Wales [weighed in]() on the situation, explaining that he ran into a similar situation with Turkey's censors, but rather than cave, he chose to take on the Turkish government in the country's Supreme Court — [and won](). While we can probably chalk the billion-dollar offer up to [cage match-level seriousness](), it seems that Musk's Wale-sized chip on his shoulder remains. That, or he's [just mad]() that his Wiki page mentions the [Musk family's emerald mine](). **More on Musk:** [*Elon Musk Obediently Censors Twitter When Dictator Tells Him To*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()