Musk pledges a share of his SpaceX company to 'every kid in America'

Billionaire Elon Musk promised on Monday to give one share of his company, SpaceX, to “every kid in America.”

Billionaire Elon Musk promised on Monday to give one share of his company, SpaceX, to “every kid in America.”

The offer came one day after Anthropic, a company that develops artificial intelligence, announced on social media that it would set aside 5% of its shares for a new fund meant to benefit the public.

In response to Anthropic's post on Sunday, Musk wrote, “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.”

SpaceX shares closed at $146.03 on Friday.

Anthropic said on Sunday that the shares it plans to set aside will go to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, a new organization within the company. The fund could become more valuable if the shares increase in value.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and the company's five other cofounders set up Anthropic as a public benefit corporation. This is a type of for-profit company that aims to balance making money with helping society.

Anthropic is planning a large initial public offering (IPO), which could happen as soon as November. In June, the company said it had privately filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its planned IPO.

That same month, Musk's SpaceX began trading publicly on the stock market. This made Musk the world's first trillionaire.