Elon Musk reacts to Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales’ remarks on Grokipedia to Moneycontrol

Elon Musk responds to Jimmy Wales’s Grokipedia criticism

Elon Musk has reacted after Wikipedia co‑founder Jimmy Wales dismissed Musk’s AI‑powered encyclopaedia, Grokipedia, as “a ridiculous idea” and said he does not know anyone who uses it. Wales made the remarks during an interview with Moneycontrol at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Speaking about Grokipedia, Wales said, “I think it’s a ridiculous idea (Grokipedia), and it will never work.”

He further added, “I don't know of anyone who uses Grokipedia. The idea that we are 'Wokepedia' is not true. One of Wikipedia's core values in neutrality.”

The remarks quickly gained attention online and were widely circulated across social media platforms. Among those who responded was Elon Musk himself. Reacting directly under a post that shared a clip of the interview, Musk wrote a brief but pointed response, “Lmao.”

Grokipedia, launched by Musk in October 2025 through his company xAI, is an AI-managed knowledge platform designed as an alternative to Wikipedia. Musk has previously called Wikipedia “biased” and “woke,” questioning its neutrality and discouraging donations to the platform.

Lmao

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2026

Wales also rejected claims that Wikipedia has ideological bias, which Elon Musk has often highlighted. He insisted that neutrality remains a core value and that Wikipedia’s policies aim to prevent partisan or misleading information.

During the interview with Moneycontrol, Wales emphasised that Wikipedia’s approach to knowledge relies off human editors, verified sources, and community oversight. He said, “All of the AI is trained on Wikipedia data. We believe attribution is an ethical responsibility, and many times, it’s a legal requirement. AI has not been very good at that.”

Wales also warned about the limits of AI in evaluating truth, “AI doesn’t understand what’s real and not real. We (Wikipedia) are very particular about fact-checking. Journalism has become more important than ever before…Building up trust in information is hugely important.”

Social media users have reacted strongly to Wales’s comments. Many highlighted Wikipedia’s established credibility and questioned Grokipedia’s originality. “Jimmy Wales isn't holding back. Grokipedia sounds flashy, but Wikipedia's been the reliable source for years. Neutrality isn't easy, but Wikipedia's built on it,” one user said.

A contributor commented, “As a Wikipedia contributor who’s written several articles, I’ve noticed that Grokipedia often copies info directly from Wikipedia articles, sometimes nearly verbatim, without proper attribution or references.”