Elon Musk says he will give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year. He announced the plan in a post on X early Monday, Oct. 19, CNBC reported.
“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk wrote. “This will be the first of many.”
What the gift would be worth
The Census Bureau counts roughly 73 million people under 18 in the U.S. SpaceX closed Friday at $146.03 a share. At that price, one share for each child would be worth about $10.5 billion. Musk owns billions of SpaceX shares, so the gift would be a small part of his stake. An SEC filing showed him holding 48.4% of the company as of June 30.
SpaceX went public in June in the biggest initial public offering on record. The company, which also has an AI business, is valued at about $2 trillion.
What is not clear yet
- How it will work: Musk has not said how the shares will be delivered. In a separate post, he said he wants to give the shares “directly to the public.”
- Who qualifies: Musk did not say whether he means every child in the U.S. or only citizens.
- Which shares: He did not say which class of SpaceX stock he would give.
- Company confirmation: SpaceX has not published details of the plan.
The Trump Accounts connection
The federal government has set up Trump Accounts, which are tax-advantaged investment accounts for children, and they can now accept stock donations. The Treasury Department said earlier this month that nearly 8 million children already had accounts and that it planned to add more than 60 million through automatic enrollment. Children born from 2025 through 2028 can receive a one-time $1,000 government deposit.
Trump thanked Musk on Truth Social, calling it “exactly what was envisioned” when the accounts were created. Brad Gerstner, who founded Invest America and Trump Accounts, praised the move and suggested the shares could go through the accounts. Musk’s own wording points toward direct gifts to the public instead.
In July, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell pledged to give one SpaceX share to each of 2 million Trump Accounts. Michael and Susan Dell have given $6.25 billion that provides $250 to children in lower-income ZIP codes.
The timing
Musk’s post came a few hours after Anthropic said it would put 5% of its shares into a new public benefit fund after its planned IPO. Musk replied to that news on X with his recommendation to give shares directly to the public. The Washington Post reported that Musk has described his giving as part of an effort to bring “universal high income” through AI.
What’s next
The plan is for 2027. Watch for details from SpaceX on how shares would be distributed and who would receive them. For more on Musk’s recent announcements, see our report on the Tesla Roadster demo.
