Elon Musk pitched a rebrand for his error-riddled online encyclopedia, Grokipedia, suggesting that it will one day be named Encyclopedia Galactica—an homage to science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
“When Grokipedia is good enough (long way to go), we will change the name to Encyclopedia Galactica,” he wrote on X.
He then added, “Copies will be etched in stone and sent to the Moon, Mars and beyond. This time, it will not be lost.”
Encyclopedia Galactica was featured in Asimov’s “Foundation” novels as a repository of all human knowledge to be stored for thousands of years. An iconic literary figure, Asimov’s writings continue to inspire generations of engineers, scientists, and creators.
It’s highly unlikely that Grokipedia—and by extension, Musk—will ever have such a legacy.
Grokipedia, which launched in October, is a knockoff of the far more authoritative Wikipedia. The articles on Grokipedia have been manipulated to misrepresent facts and history, aligning with Musk’s pet obsessions and bigoted world view.
For instance, the site denies the key role that slavery played in the economic foundation of the United States and falsely claims that the proliferation of pornography contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Instead of an authoritative encyclopedia, the site is just another part of Musk’s crusade to promote hate and misinformation that began with his purchase of Twitter—which he renamed X.
This point was emphasized soon after the launch of Grokipedia. Several media outlets—including The Guardian and Wired—pointed out the inaccuracies on the site, but instead of taking them into consideration, Musk argued that a vast conspiracy was underway.
Related | Musk pushes wild conspiracy to defend his Wikipedia knockoff
Similarly, Musk’s promise that Encyclopedia Galactica entries would be preserved on Mars and the moon is just the latest chapter in his long history of promoting grandiose plans for the future that utterly fail to materialize.
Musk has repeatedly promised that his companies will produce a fleet of driverless cars, tunnels between cities, brain chips, robotic taxis, and robot maids and butlers—without delivering on any of it.
It’s incredibly unlikely that Musk’s Wikipedia ripoff will produce real facts anytime soon, let alone anything that’s accessible on Mars—and it doesn’t matter what he wants to call it.
Oliver Willis November 14, 2025 at 12:30AM From Daily Kos
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