SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced plans to give every child in America a share of SpaceX in an Oct. 19 post on X.
His post said, "This will be the first of many," but it's unclear what he is referring to. Musk did not say who qualifies for the shares or how they would be distributed.
In Tennessee, about 21.5% of the population may qualify to receive a share of the company, which includes about 1.57 million children under 18.
Here's how much would go to children in Tennessee.
How much would Musk be giving away?
SpaceX shares rose to $148.18 in trading early Oct. 19, mirroring a broader bounce in U.S. stock futures after last week’s selloff.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 21.1% of the roughly 341.8 million U.S. residents are under 18, or about 72.1 million. According to
Forbes, if all 72 million received a SpaceX share, the giveaway would be worth about $10.5 billion.
Musk didn't provide any further details on how the giveaway would work, such as eligibility criteria, specific timing or whether the shares would be transferred to Trump Accounts.
How much of SpaceX does Elon Musk own?
According to an SEC filing made by the company in August, Musk disclosed that he owns 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June 30, including shares held through trusts where he serves as trustee, restricted stock and shares issuable through options.
"Even if Musk gave away 72 million shares as part of the pledge, it would represent only slightly more than 1% of his reported holdings," Forbes wrote.
What happened to the DOGE stimulus checks?
In early 2025, the Trump administration, alongside the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, floated the idea of stimulus checks for Americans, funded by the money saved from DOGE's work.
James Fishback, the original creator of the stimulus check idea, described the “DOGE dividend” in a four-page proposal as a refund sent only to taxpaying householders. Noting the difference from past stimulus checks, he added that DOGE checks would not be inflationary, as they would be "exclusively funded with DOGE-driven savings, unlike COVID stimulus checks which were deficit-financed."
Fishback initially floated the idea on Musk's social media platform X, suggesting Trump and Musk "should announce a ‘DOGE Dividend’ — a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE." Musk replied, "Will check with the President."
Fishback's proposal would send checks only to households with incomes above a certain threshold, rather than the pandemic-era checks that were sent “indiscriminately.”
Though the idea caught the attention of many Americans feeling the pinch of inflation and rising prices, a DOGE dividend check never materialized. For Congress to send out stimulus checks, It must approve the proposal, and no moves have been made to repurpose the funding saved from DOGE for stimulus checks.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Elon Musk giveaway would send SpaceX share to 1.57M Tennessee kids
