Elon Musk says he will give every child in America stake in SpaceX

• SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced on Monday that he would give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year
• The pledge would cover roughly 72 million children across the United States, representing approximately 0.546% of SpaceX
• Musk gave no details on how the giveaway would be structured or which children would qualify

Nancy Odindo is a current affairs writer at Tuko.co.ke (joined in 2023). She has one year of experience in print and more than five years in digital media.

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk announced on Monday, October 19, that he plans to give one SpaceX share to every child in the United States next year, calling it "the first of many."

Musk made the announcement via his account on X, posting, "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many."

He did not explain how he would distribute them, who would be eligible, or what mechanism would govern the transfer of shares in the private company.

Scale and value of the pledge

According to figures shared by World of Statistics in response to the announcement, approximately 72 million children live in the United States.

Distributing one share to each child would represent around 0.546% of SpaceX, a stake currently valued at approximately KSh 1.36 trillion (USD 10.52 billion).

SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002, is one of the most valuable private companies in the world. The company operates the Starlink satellite internet service and runs both launch and spacecraft programmes.

Because SpaceX is privately held, shares are not freely traded on public markets, raising practical questions about how the giveaway would function.

Reactions to Musk's announcement

The post drew significant attention, accumulating 68,000 likes and 2.2 million views within hours of being published. Reactions were sharply divided.

@mattvanswol welcomed the news: "That's absolutely incredible, Elon. Thank you for doing this; I have three kids… thank you for caring about their future."

@HamiltonRevenge saw a strategic motive behind the gesture: "That's smart. You will then have engineered a whole generation of kids supporting and rooting for SpaceX to win. This is such a high ROI move!!"

@D2TK was more skeptical, writing, "Very smart. Buying votes without directly addressing those who vote."

@DanielRegha suggested an alternative use of the resources: "Or better still, sell the shares and invest the money into helping eradicate poverty to make the world a better place for everyone. Every step in the right direction goes a long way to making the planet a better place."

@KingOffX_ was dismissive of the critics, summarising anticipated objections sardonically: "Meanwhile, the leftists, just one share? This is inequitable! Only American kids? What about kids in Gaza? Why not just tax Elon 100%?"

Musk offered no further clarification on the announcement following the initial post.

Source: TUKO.co.ke