Trump thanks Musk for pledging SpaceX shares to Trump Accounts

Trump's response to Musk's pledge

According to Mint, US President Donald Trump thanked Elon Musk on Monday local time after Musk announced plans to give SpaceX shares to American children through the Trump administration’s Trump Accounts initiative. Trump wrote on social media that Musk’s generosity matched what the accounts were meant to do, and he framed the plan as part of a broader effort to use private-sector support for children. In the post, Trump called Musk a “legendary” friend.

What Musk said he would do

Mint reports that Musk said on X that he plans to give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year. In that post, he said it would be the first of several such contributions. The article says Bloomberg reported Musk had agreed to distribute the stock through the Trump Accounts initiative, but the exact structure of the transfer has not been made public.

Unknowns about the transfer

The source says the process for moving the shares has not been disclosed. It also notes that while every American child under 18 with a valid Social Security number has a Trump Account, the specific rules for Musk’s share transfer are still unclear. Mint says Bloomberg cited a source in reporting that Musk moved ahead after the White House announced the creation of tens of millions of accounts through automatic enrollment.

Size of the proposed donation

Mint says estimates place the value of the proposed donation at about $10.5 billion to $10.7 billion. The article ties that range to roughly 72 million to 73 million US children and to a SpaceX share price of $146.03. It also says US Census Bureau estimates put the number of children in the United States at around 72 million, which would make the donation worth about $10.7 billion at the current share price.

Trump Accounts and other backers

According to Mint, Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts for American children under 18. The programme was created through a tax and spending bill Trump signed last year. It provides $1,000 to eligible children born between 2025 and 2028, and it allows families, government programmes and private donors to add funds or equities that stay invested until the child reaches adulthood.

Mint says the accounts opened on 4 July and have since received more than $4.5 billion. That total includes $2.6 billion in philanthropic contributions, $1.3 billion in initial $1,000 seed contributions and more than $600 million from relatives and friends. The article also says more than 70 companies have pledged workplace contribution programmes, and that family and friends can contribute up to $5,000 a year to each child’s account, while employer contributions can go up to $2,500 a year within that cap.

The story adds that Musk’s pledge follows earlier support from other wealthy backers, including Michael and Susan Dell and Ray Dalio. It also says Trump said in July that he expected Musk to contribute, and that SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband had already gifted SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts for more than 2 million children in the US.