Science & TechSpace
Musk says he will give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year
The SpaceX and Tesla chief called it 'the first of many' such gifts, but did not explain who would qualify or how the shares would be handed out.
Key points
- Musk pledged on X to give one of his SpaceX shares to every American child next year.
- He held a 48.4% stake in SpaceX as of 30 June, according to a company filing.
- Eligibility, timing and the mechanism for the handout have not been explained.
Elon Musk has said he will give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in the United States next year, a promise made in a short post that left almost every practical question unanswered.
“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many,” Musk wrote on X.
He gave no details. It is not clear who would count as a child, when the shares would be distributed, what regulatory approvals would be needed, or whether recipients would hold the shares directly or through a trust.
Musk has plenty to give. A SpaceX regulatory filing shows he held a 48.4% stake in the company as of 30 June, about 6.42 billion shares in all. That includes 849.5 million Class A shares and 3.92 billion Class B shares held through trusts of which he is trustee. He also holds about 1.30 billion restricted Class B shares and stock options covering another 350 million.
SpaceX, one of the world’s most valuable private companies, runs commercial rocket launches, the Starlink satellite internet service and human spaceflight. Its shares do not trade on a public exchange, which would make any mass handout to children an unusual exercise for a private company.