Trump expects Musk to donate SpaceX stock to 6 million accounts

President Donald Trump said he expects Elon Musk to donate SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts, signaling a thaw in their relationship after last year's split.

President Donald Trump said he expects Elon Musk to donate SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts, a move that would add the $2.2 trillion company to a government savings program that has already enrolled more than 6 million children.

"I think he will," Trump told CNBC in an Oval Office interview Thursday, when asked about a potential SpaceX donation. "We had a little dispute, but we have a very good relationship."

The comments follow a Semafor report that Trump officials have spoken with SpaceX about donating stock to the accounts, which are expected to launch as soon as next week. SpaceX shares rose 7 percent Monday to $164.19, extending gains after the company's record-setting IPO earlier this month valued it at $2.2 trillion.

A SpaceX donation would cement the thaw between Trump and Musk after the billionaire's four-month stint running DOGE, the administration's controversial budget-cutting effort, ended with the two at odds. The Trump Accounts program — backed by $6.25 billion in cash from billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, plus matching commitments from BlackRock and Bank of America — is being pitched as a signature legacy initiative for the administration.

A Relationship Rebuilt

Musk was an early Trump ally and donor, but the relationship soured after his tenure as a special government employee leading DOGE. The billionaire left acrimoniously after four months, and the two had little public interaction until recent months. The potential SpaceX donation would mark one of the most concrete signs of their reconciliation.

It remains unclear whether Musk has agreed to contribute or how any donation would be structured. The Treasury Department has partnered with Bank of New York Mellon and Robinhood on the rollout, which Congress authorized last summer. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Monday that Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange would ring the opening bell from the Oval Office "for the first time together" to mark the launch next week.

The idea of corporate equity contributions to the government was first raised by OpenAI's Sam Altman last year, according to reports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent favored using stakes to seed Trump Accounts while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick preferred steering them toward a sovereign wealth fund, people familiar with the talks told Semafor.

Musk has pushed back against claims that government support helped build his companies, calling such assertions "totally false" and saying every government incentive his companies received amounted to "less than 2 percent" of the value of Tesla and SpaceX. A SpaceX stock donation to Trump Accounts would represent a significant shift in the billionaire's posture toward government-backed programs.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.