Musk 'Begs' Twitter Followers To Trash Him On Wikipedia, And Chaos Ensues

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk went on Twitter Sunday and encouraged his followers to “trash” him on Wikipedia.

What Happened

“History is written by the victors … except on Wikipedia haha,” the chief executive observed on Twitter — inviting his followers to edit the article on the free encyclopedia that describes him.

Please trash me on Wikipedia, I’m begging you

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 16, 2020

Several Twitter users responded to Musk's tweets with screenshots of edited versions of the Wikipedia entry related to him. All of their authenticity couldn't be independently verified at press time.

🤣🤣

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 16, 2020

Why It Matters

Wikipedia moderators were quick to respond, warning each other to be on the "look out for incoming vandalism." 

Musk's page was later given the "Extended Protection" tag to save it from unscrupulous edits. “Changed protection level for "Elon Musk": High visibility following tweet by the subject,” a moderator commented. 

This isn't first time that the Tesla co-founder is taking an apparent stance against Wikipedia.

“Just looked at my wiki for [the first] time in years. It’s insane!," he tweeted December last year. "Btw, can someone please delete 'investor.' I do basically zero investing.”

Price action 

Tesla shares traded 0.8% higher at $1,664 in the pre-market session Monday.

Photo courtesy: Steve Jurvetson on Flickr