Musk says he will give SpaceX shares to U.S. children through Trump Accounts

Musk's pledged stock transfer

According to kucoin, Elon Musk announced early Monday, October 19, on X that he would give one SpaceX share to every child in the United States next year. The report says he later said the shares would come from his personal holdings in 2027. Kucoin describes the plan as a potential stock distribution to millions of young Americans.

Estimated value and recipient count

Kucoin says the United States has about 72 million residents under 18, citing Census Bureau estimates. Using SpaceX’s Friday closing price of $146.03, the article calculates that one share for each child would be worth about $10.51 billion in total. The report stresses that this is only an estimate, not a fixed donation amount, because the share price could change before any transfer and the final number of recipients would depend on eligibility rules.

SpaceX and the ownership backdrop

The article says SpaceX completed its Nasdaq debut in June at $135 per share after a large IPO that opened the company to public-market investors. Kucoin adds that the company later drew institutional investors, including Harvard, whose reported $2.2 billion stake is cited as an example of demand among large investors. The report says Musk’s proposal would create a different shareholder group by giving stock to children who are not buying it themselves.

Trump Accounts as a possible channel

Kucoin reports that Musk also indicated support for using Trump Accounts, which it describes as tax-advantaged investment accounts created under Section 530A of the Internal Revenue Code. The article says the program generally allows U.S. children under 18 with Social Security numbers to open accounts, and that a separate federal program provides $1,000 to eligible children born from 2025 through 2028. Kucoin notes that this government contribution is separate from Musk’s proposed private donation.

Rules, prior support, and unresolved questions

The report says the Treasury announced in July that qualifying philanthropists could contribute publicly traded shares through Trump Accounts, and that September regulations said donated securities must be publicly traded, issued by domestic corporations, and free of certain transfer restrictions. Kucoin adds that such shares would usually face a five-year holding period or remain locked until the account holder reaches the end of the program’s growth period, whichever comes first. It also says SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell had previously pledged stock to children’s accounts.

Kucoin says a regulatory route exists, but that does not mean Treasury has approved Musk’s specific plan. The article links Musk’s announcement to Anthropic’s October 18 pledge to devote 5% of its equity to a public benefit fund. It says Musk favored direct public ownership instead of using a centralized charity structure. The report ends by saying the remaining questions are who would qualify, how the shares would be transferred, and whether the proposal can clear Treasury approval before the proposed 2027 launch.