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U.S. President Donald Trump might not necessarily be on speaking terms with Elon Musk but that hasn't stopped him from demanding a piece of the SpaceX pie, revealing in a recent press conference that he expects the world's richest man to donate shares from the recent IPO to the government.
It might have fallen considerably from the post-IPO hype, but SpaceX remains still one of the more valuable stocks on the market right now, and is key to Elon Musk's ability to remain a trillionaire for the time being.
Lots of people have dipped their toes into the space agency on the stock market – including UNILAD Tech's own Tom Chapman with mixed success – but while the vast majority have risked their own money and investment portfolios on Musk's dreams of Mars, one man in particular expects Musk to hand over part of his investment fortune for free.
As reported by Business Insider, President Trump revealed in an interview with CNBC last Thursday, July 2, that he expects Musk to donate some SpaceX stock despite the pair's ongoing dispute.
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Trump indicated that he wrote Musk a note congratulating the tech mogul on the success of SpaceX's IPO, but expressed that the pair had not communicated directly since then.
He called their past spat a 'little dispute' – although at the time it appeared to more significant than that – but that seemingly hasn't yet harmed their ability to communicate financially.
Responding to a question asking whether he expects Musk to donate SpaceX stocks specifically to Trump Accounts, the president responded: "Well, I think that he will do that."
Whether this is something that's already in the pipeline or whether it's news to Musk is yet to be seen, but it could prove to be a significant boon to children born in the United States going forward, depending on the amount that's donated.
If you're unaware of what purpose the Trump Accounts program services, it acts as an investment portal for all American babies born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028.
Through this, every child will receive a $1,000 flat gift from the government which will then grow over time with interest, which they will then have control over once they turn 18.
People can also contribute up to $5,000 per year in additional funding for the account, which then becomes the sole property of the child once they turn 18.
According to the website, the total when they turn 18 will be at least $6,000 if no extra funds are contributed, but this can grow to $271,000 if the maximum amount is invested each year.
Additionally, if you leave it alone until you're 55 – as it continues to grow in perpetuity – that initial $1,000 will now be worth $243,000, with annual $5,000 payments taking it to over $13 million.
Whether Musk's donation of SpaceX stock will go directly into each child's Trump Account is unclear, but it could also be that the money gained over time will be used to fund the program as the private space agency continues to grow in value.
