Elon Musk will give every kid a Space X share - but won't pay his child support

Tech and media mogul Elon Musk, whose personal net worth is around $1 trillion, says he plans to give every child in America one share of SpaceX in 2027.

“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many,“ Musk posted to X (which he owns) on Monday.

The 55-year-old's ‘philanthropic' announcement - made without proof or a plan - follows news from rival AI company Anthropic just 12 hours earlier that it will set aside 5 per cent of its shares in a "public benefit fund" for the “public good”.

The SpaceX CEO responded to Anthropic's X post, “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.”

And then came his own announcement. It truly is a joy to behold billionaires scrambling to outdo each other.

Based on the current SpaceX share price and the number of US children under the age of 18, the move is estimated to be worth roughly $US10 billion ($14 billion) - which is likely quite affordable to him.

Musk's pledge also aligns with the Trump administration's recent push for American children to grow wealth with the newly created Trump accounts, which automatically give kids a one-time $1,000 US payment from the government.

The wild shares promise might be surprising for the man who is known for being frugal with his heart and money, but it's downright shocking considering the trillionaire has also made headlines recently for refusing to honour child support payments for one of his 14 kids.

Elon Musk pledges shares for all kids - but reduces payment for one of his own

As reported this week, the trillionaire allegedly slashed his former partner Ashley St. Clair’s monthly child support by $115,000 after she revealed she’d given birth to another child, Romulus - his 13th. 

According to claims made in the new documentary Musk, St. Clair was offered $US15 million ($21.6 million) and $US100,000 ($144,000) a month in child support if she signed an NDA.

The one-time conservative influencer says Musk was “kind” until Romulus, now two, was born, adding, “It was almost as if he didn’t show a certain side of himself until after I had our baby.”

St. Clair has taken Musk to court over custody and payments in relation to Romulus, with her legal team alleging that the dispute led Musk to “substantially” reduce his financial support, leaving her facing eviction.

Musk, for his part, previously claimed he had paid St. Clair $US2.5 million ($3.6 million) but said he was “not against finding out” whether he was the child’s father.

If you think this sounds confusing, that's because it is. Who knows who is telling the truth…

But news of the alleged reduction in child support payments and the act of legal action makes you wonder: could Musk's Space X shares pledge be… performative?

(Rhetorical question, of course.)