If Elon Musk gifts SpaceX stock through Trump Accounts, it will come with a catch - CNBC
Elon Musk announced plans to gift SpaceX stock shares to children across America, potentially routing them through new Trump Accounts. However, Treasury guidelines for these accounts impose strict five-year selling restrictions, giving donors unusual control over the investments.
Why it matters
This initiative merges high-profile tech philanthropy with newly minted federal children's investment accounts, raising questions about donor influence and asset liquidity.
Elon Musk said on Monday that he will give every kid in America a share of SpaceX next year.
He appeared to suggest the gift could land in Trump Accounts — thanking Brad Gerstner, an architect of the program, for "helping enable this" in a comment on X . Posts from the White House and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also referenced Musk's gift as benefiting Trump Accounts.
But if the shares are distributed through the new investment accounts for children, the gift could come with significant strings attached.
Musk's announcement comes weeks after the U.S. Department of the Treasury rolled out guidelines for stock donations to Trump Accounts, also known as 530A accounts. Those include restrictions on selling donated stock: Children who receive it generally cannot sell for five years, even if the company runs into financial trouble.
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