President Donald Trump said SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk's proposed 2027 gift of company shares to children would go through Trump Accounts, identifying a route for a pledge with no detailed eligibility or transfer plan.
In an Oct. 19 post on X, Musk offered one of his shares to “every kid in America” in 2027. He called the gift “the first of many.” Trump thanked him on Truth Social, adding the account route to Musk's original pledge.
Neither post defines a specific age, citizenship or residency test. They also give no transfer procedure or date within 2027.
Trump Accounts are federally established investment accounts for minors. The White House counted almost 70 million accounts as of Oct. 7, with automatic enrollment producing more than 60 million of them. That total does not establish how many children would receive Musk's shares. For an automatically enrolled account, the U.S. Treasury Department says a parent or guardian must claim it before managing it.
The separate $1,000 federal contribution does not go to every account holder. The Internal Revenue Service says it requires an election and is available to eligible U.S. citizens with a Social Security number who were born from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028.
Treasury's temporary rules provide for qualifying stock donations through eligible government or charitable donors. The shares must meet conditions that include public trading and the absence of prior transfer restrictions. Generally, recipients cannot sell qualifying donated stock until five years after receipt or the end of the child's account growth period, whichever comes first. Treasury says such gifts can also concentrate investment risk for beneficiaries.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband made a narrower pledge in July, offering one share for each of more than 2 million children's Trump Accounts. Their proposal targeted children ages 11 to 17 in areas with lower average household incomes.
In an Aug. 13 SEC filing, Musk reported beneficial ownership of 6,418,547,515 shares expressed as Class A common stock, or 48.4% of Class A on the filing's calculation basis. The filing identifies June 30 as its event date and uses Class A shares outstanding on July 28 for that percentage. The reported holdings include convertible and restricted Class B shares and shares obtainable through options. The filing does not identify the share class or specific holdings for Musk's proposed gift.
