Elon Musk says "I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America" in 2027; at SpaceX's $146.03 Friday close, the gift would be valued at ~$10.5B (Kai Nicol-Schwarz/CNBC)

Elon Musk announced on Monday that he would be giving one of his SpaceX shares to every child in the United States next year. This pledge was made in response to Anthropic's announcement the previous day that it would commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund, pending shareholder approval. Following Anthropic's post, Musk suggested distributing the shares directly to the public.

As of Friday, SpaceX shares were trading at $146.03, and with roughly 73 million children under 18 in the US, Musk's pledge would be worth approximately $10.66 billion. Anthropic's shares, intended for the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, could grow in value. Musk did not specify how the share pledge would be executed, but added that this was just the beginning.

The pledges come amid growing concern over AI development, with a recent AP-NORC poll showing that 64% of Americans believe AI is progressing too quickly. Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, along with other industry leaders, has called for a slowdown in AI development following a researcher's warning about the technology's potential threats.

However, challenges such as domestic and global competition, profit motives, and opposition from President Trump hinder a coordinated effort to control AI's advancement. Musk has also emerged as the leading donor in the US midterm elections, contributing over $276 million to support Republican candidates. Anthropic, a public benefit corporation, plans to go public soon with an IPO, while SpaceX, which made Musk a trillionaire upon its Wall Street debut, has seen a 35.3% decline in shares since its IPO.