Musk says he will give one SpaceX share to every child in the US next year

Musk’s pledge on X

The Next Web reports that Elon Musk posted on X early Monday that he would give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year. In the post, he said, “This will be the first of many.” The article says the pledge covers shares from Musk’s own stake.

What he did and did not say

According to The Next Web, Musk did not explain how the shares would be delivered or identify who would be included. He also did not say when in 2027 the transfer would happen.

The reported scale and value

The Next Web says there are just over 72 million people under 18 in the United States, based on US Census Bureau estimates. Using SpaceX’s Friday closing price of $146.03, the article says 72 million shares would be worth about $10.5 billion.

The report adds that Musk held 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June 30, according to an August SEC filing. That figure includes shares in trusts, restricted stock and options, and the article says a 72 million-share giveaway would equal about 1.1% of that total. The article also says SpaceX went public in June.

Response to Anthropic and a similar earlier pledge

The Next Web reports that Musk’s post came after Anthropic said on Sunday that it would commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund. Musk replied on X, saying, “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public…” and added that this was what he would do.

The article says Musk is not the first SpaceX executive to make a similar pledge. In July, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said on X that she and her husband would give one SpaceX share each to more than 2 million American children. The shares, the report says, go into the children’s Trump Accounts.