Elon Musk goes after Wikipedia, asks where all the money goes

Facepalm: Despite the recurrent issues experienced by his Twitter-X platform, Elon Musk frequently targets new adversaries. The serial entrepreneur is now attempting to engage in a feud with Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that, according to Musk, requests excessive funding from its users.

Elon Musk posted a series of tweets about Wikipedia over the weekend, questioning why the Wikimedia Foundation requests “so much money.” The American non-profit organization, established in 2003 by Jimmy “Jimbo” Wales, is responsible for hosting and managing Wikipedia and other wiki-related projects. The foundation frequently solicits donations from its users, and Musk appears to be dissatisfied with this recurring request.

According to Musk, Wikipedia “definitely” doesn’t require all that money to remain online. Musk tweeted that you can “literally” store a copy of the entire text on your phone. He asked for further clarification because “inquiring minds” want to know. Musk also included a link to Wikipedia’s official financial report and operating budget, in which the Wikimedia Foundation allocates 43 percent of the funds for “direct support” to its websites, 32 percent for community support, 13 percent for administration and governance, and 12 percent for fundraising.

Wikipedia is one of the most frequently visited websites, or rather, a vast network of websites on the internet today, and its servers require a reasonable amount of funding to keep everything running smoothly. Nonetheless, Musk continues to inquire and even proposes his own donation idea: he is willing to provide $1 billion to Wales’ foundation if Wikipedia changes its name to Dickipedia.

Elon Musk expressed concerns about Wikipedia’s fundraising practices and suggested a name change as part of his efforts to promote accuracy. While some Twitter users raised issues regarding the reliability of Musk’s tweets, it’s essential to note that Wikipedia, a prominent online encyclopedia, relies on donations for its operation. In 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation reported revenue of $154 million with total expenses of $145 million.

Musk, meanwhile, recently launched a $1 annual fee for X users in select regions to boost platform revenue.