New York: Elon Musk banteringly offered one billion dollars to the free-content website Wikipedia if it changes name to the one he has suggested.
While suggesting the name ‘ Dickipedia’, Musk kicked up discussions over the donations that the online encyclopedia seeks.
‘I will give them a billion dollars if they change their name to Dickipedia’ he offered to do so ‘in the interests of accuracy.’
Responding to Musk, one user on X suggested Wikipedia to change the name back to original after collecting the money.
To which, the billionaire replied, "One year minimum. I mean, I'm a not fool lol."
Later Musk shared the screenshot of Wikipedia’s homepage that said ‘ Wikipedia is not for sale’ alongside ‘a personal appeal from Jimmy Wales’.
Subsequently Musk asked"Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money? 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? Inquiring minds want to know ..."
The post on X received over 9.9 million views and over a lakh likes and Musk in another post asked Wikipedia if a cow and poop emoji could be added to the freed-content site.
One user responded to Musk’s post saying ‘They're always asking for donations, so be careful. They might come to collect.’
A third person urged Musk to ‘buy it and put AI in charge of updating it autonomously.’
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales in May this year criticised Musk for not supporting free speech when the website faced Turkey’s restrictions over content .
Turkey blocked Wikipedia for more than two years after the country’s telecommunications watchdog invoked a law to ban sites ‘ deemed obscene or threat to national security’.