Elon Musk has announced plans to give one SpaceX share to every child in the United States next year, proposing a direct distribution of company equity to millions of minors.
"Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America," Musk wrote on X, adding, "This will be the first of many."
The proposed giveaway could cover approximately 73 million people under the age of 18, according to US Census Bureau data. With SpaceX shares closing at around $146, the total value of the distribution is estimated at $10.7 billion, says CNN.
The proposal has few details so far, including how the shares would be distributed to tens of millions of children and what eligibility criteria would apply.
SpaceX is a $2 trillion aerospace and artificial intelligence company that went public in June after completing the largest initial public offering in history.
Musk's announcement follows other initiatives aimed at expanding stock ownership among young people. The US Treasury Department's Trump Accounts programme automatically enrols children under 18 and provides a $1,000 government contribution for those born between 2025 and 2028.
In July, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged to donate one SpaceX share to about 2 million children registered for the accounts, focusing on lower-income families and residents of Texas.
Musk's proposal also follows a pledge by artificial intelligence company Anthropic to allocate at least 5% of its shares, valued at $48 billion, to a Public Benefit Fund intended to address societal impacts, including job displacement driven by AI.
Rejecting the organisational fund model, Musk wrote on X: "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public… This is what I will be doing."
Musk signed the Giving Pledge in 2012. His charitable arm, the Musk Foundation, held more than $14 billion in assets at the end of 2024.
Speaking about philanthropy on the People by WTF podcast, Musk said: "We should try to do things that help our fellow human beings."
"The biggest challenge I find with my foundation is trying to give money away in a way that is truly beneficial to people. It's very easy to give money away to get the appearance of goodness. It is very difficult to give money away for the reality of goodness."
Musk has previously made conditional pledges involving his wealth. In 2021, he said he would donate $6 billion in Tesla stock to the United Nations World Food Programme if it could demonstrate that the money would solve world hunger. The sum does not appear to have been transferred.
The announcement comes amid growing public scrutiny of major technology companies and artificial intelligence developers over AI safety risks, potential job losses, the environmental impact of data centres and the conduct of technology industry leaders.