Elon Musk has announced plans to give every family in the United States a stake in his aerospace company SpaceX starting next year.
Musk, who is named the richest person in the world, stated on the social network X: 'Next year I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every child in America.' He added that this would only be the beginning, but did not disclose details about the mechanism for implementing this program.
According to the 2024 US census data, there are about 73 million children under 18 years old in the country. It should be noted that Musk owns 38 percent of SpaceX shares, according to Forbes.
This statement was made against the backdrop of a promise by President Donald Trump, which was made last month: he promised to pay every American adult $5,000 if his Republican party retained control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
SpaceX has set a record for the largest initial public offering in history, raising $85.7 billion in June. Furthermore, the company's Starship mega-rocket reached orbit for the first time in September, which was an important step toward Musk's Martian ambitions.
Nevertheless, before Starship can realize Musk's dreams of reaching the Moon and Mars, huge technical difficulties remain, including the need to prove the possibility of refueling the ship in orbit. NASA also plans to use a modified version of Starship for missions to return US astronauts to the lunar surface.
Kathleen Carlyle, senior analyst at the Georgia Institute of Technology Center for Security and Emerging Technology, told AFP that the recent test was not 'extremely successful,' but it allowed for significant progress. She noted: 'It is an achievement in terms of flight and reaching orbit, but according to SpaceX's own metrics and goals, they failed to complete the 10-hour flight and encountered engine problems.'