New Delhi: Elon Musk has promised to distribute a share of SpaceX to each child in the United States of America next year. His announcement on X came hours after AI giant Anthropic detailed plans to dedicate a significant portion of its equity to serve the public.
“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
SpaceX shares are currently trading at around $146-147. With roughly 72–73 million people under the age of 18 in the US, this one-time gift would be valued at approximately $10.5 to $10.7 billion according to current prices. However, Musk is yet to release details on eligibility, distribution mechanics, tax treatment, or any restrictions on the shares.
SpaceX was founded by Musk in March 2002, and he currently holds a 48.4 per cent stake in the company, representing roughly 6.42 billion shares valued at over $860 billion to $900 billion.
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Following Anthropic’s footsteps
Musk’s charity pledge followed Anthropic’s announcement on Sunday, a day before his announcement.
Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI models, structured as a public benefit corporation, said it would commit 5 per cent of its shares (subject to stockholder approval) to a new Anthropic Public Benefit Fund.
“It will start off with 5 per cent of our shares. For every 50 per cent increase in the company’s value over a set baseline, we can contribute up to an extra 2 per cent, subject to our board’s discretion,” they wrote in a post detailing the scheme. “In total, this means that roughly 20 per cent of Anthropic’s shares are committed to public good.”
The post highlighted that the co-founders have already pledged to donate 80 per cent of their equity, and nearly half the employees are also donating a portion of their equity as part of a donation matching program. The company emphasized that none of the equity held by the fund will be used for lobbying or will be given to political parties.
“I recommend giving the shares directly to the public,” Musk had written in response to Anthropic’s post adding, “This is what I will be doing.”
His follow-up post on Monday specified that children in the US would be the initial recipients of SpaceX equity.
The announcements arrive amid heightened scrutiny of AI companies over safety risks, job displacement, the environmental footprint of large-scale computing, and other concerns.
Despite the charitable pledge, Musk has a history of high-profile pledges that he does not follow through with, Bloomberg noted.
In October 2021, Musk challenged the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide an open-source spending plan showing how $6 billion of his wealth could solve world hunger. When they gave him a breakdown, Musk did not follow through with his promise.
(Edited by Janaki Pande)