Elon Musk donates Tesla shares worth $112 million to charities that have "no current intention to ..."

[Dennis Donovan]

5. Criticism section of the Wikipedia article on the Musk Foundation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk_Foundation#Criticism

Criticism
Both the selection of recipients of donations and a relatively low payout ratio have been criticized. In 2021 and 2022, the Musk Foundation awarded less than 5% of its assets in donations, after its assets grew to several billion dollars. This means that it fell short of the legal minimum donation required to maintain its tax-exempt status. The Guardian criticized the fact that the foundation financed various projects of Musk and his family members, although this is not unusual for billionaires and wealthy donors. The New York Times concluded that through 2022, about half of the Musk Foundation's grants went to organizations “tied” to Musk, one of his employees, or one of his companies. Musk's philanthropy would be “largely self-serving.”

According to the biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk has little interest in philanthropy. He believes that he can do more for humanity by leaving his money in his companies and pursuing the goals of sustainable energy, space exploration and AI safety with them.

On December 12, 2024, The New York Times reported the foundation again awarded less than 5% of its assets in donations in 2024.