Is Elon Musk going to be a professor? It looks like that's the case after tax filings revealed that the billionaire plans to build his own university.
People familiar with the effort said that the tech executive will start setting up a primary and secondary school in Austin, Texas, which is expected to become a full-blown university once it is completed. Based on the tax filings, Musk already donated over $100 million to a new charity called "The Foundation," which plans to launch a new school in Texas.
Prof. Elon Musk? Billionaire Allegedly Launching Free University in Texas
SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, on June 16, 2023.
According to Business Insider's latest report, The Foundation is planning to launch a school that will focus on young students, specifically those in elementary and high school levels.
The educational institute will cater to STEM subjects-science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-which mirror the expertise of Elon Musk. The tax filings claim that the initial enrollment can accommodate around 50 students, which will increase over time.
As of writing, the billionaire's charity is making efforts to get the school up and running. As part of their first step, they will try to pursue accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, as reported by Gizmodo.
After that, the school will be expanded into a university dedicated to education at the highest levels. However, some experts said that this plan is quite surprising for Elon Musk given that he has been critical of the "too woke" methods of traditional universities and schools.
On the other hand, some critics believe that Elon Musk is trying to establish a university that will have educational systems that are more practical to the ideological preferences of students.
Others think that the billionaire just has some grand "humanity helping" thinking. No matter what Elon Musk's reason is to build his own university, there's no denying that it could help those who are seeking to become mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and other similar professionals.
Elon Musk's University Will Be Tuition-Free
Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on January 24, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Musk testified at a trial regarding a lawsuit that has investors suing Tesla and Musk over his August 2018 tweets saying he was taking Tesla private with funding that he had secured.
The tax filings showed that Elon Musk's The Foundation charity wants to make the university tuition-free. However, if it implements a tuition, need-based scholarships will be provided.
This is not the first time that the billionaire has shown interest in launching his own schools. In 2014, Musk even established a small private school called Ad Astra, which was created for employees' kids.
The Ad Astra is quite different from other schools since it doesn't have any grading system. Instead, it focuses on the abilities and aptitudes of students.
As of writing, not much is known about Elon's alleged Texas-based university aside from having STEM subjects and possibly being a tuition-free institute.
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