News/October 19, 2026

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Musk says he will give one SpaceX share to every kid in America next year

Elon Musk posted on X on October 19, 2026 that next year he will give one of his SpaceX shares to every kid in America, calling it the first of many.

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Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington
Image: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Elon Musk posted on X early on Monday, October 19, 2026: "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many." The pledge is for children, not every American citizen, and the post gave no details on who qualifies, what age range counts or how the shares would be handed out.

The Associated Press put a rough price on it. SpaceX stock closed at $146.03 on Friday, October 16, and the US has about 73 million children under 18, so one share each would be worth about $10.66 billion.

The post came a day after Anthropic said it would commit 5% of its shares to a new Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. Replying to Anthropic's announcement on X, Musk wrote, "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public." SpaceX, which made its Wall Street debut in June, is due to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday.

By Monday afternoon the post had passed 20 million views and about 450,000 likes. Until Musk or SpaceX explains how the gift would work, the timing, the eligibility rules and how shares would be held for minors all remain open questions.

Why it matters

If it goes ahead, tens of millions of American children could become SpaceX shareholders, a direct way of sharing tech wealth that Musk is pitching against fund-style giving like Anthropic's.

Source: Elon Musk on X

Sources