
October 19th, 2026
Elon Musk said on Monday that he will give one share of his company SpaceX to "every kid in America" next year.
He made the pledge in response to a social media post from AI company Anthropic.
Anthropic said on Sunday that it would give 5% of its shares to a new "public benefit" fund.
Musk replied that he recommends giving the shares directly to the public.
SpaceX shares closed at $146.03 on Friday.
There are about 73 million children under 18 in the United States.
So the value of Musk's pledge would be about $10.66 billion.
Musk did not give more details on how the pledge would be carried out.
He added in his post that it would be "the first of many."
Anthropic said its shares will go to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund.
This is a new group within the company.
The fund's value could grow as the shares rise in price.
The announcements come as Americans grow more wary of AI.
A new poll from Reporters-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 64% of Americans think AI is developing "too fast."
Another 27% said its development has been "about right."
Only 8% said it is moving "too slow."
Last month, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman, SpaceXAI's Musk and other industry leaders said AI's development needs to slow down.
The agreement came after an Anthropic researcher resigned with a warning.
The researcher warned about the threats the technology poses to humanity.
Obstacles remain, including domestic and global competition, profit motives and pushback from President Donald Trump.
Musk has also become the biggest known donor in this year's midterm elections.
He has given more than $276 million since July to try to save Republican majorities in Congress.
October 19th, 2026

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