The Foundation
The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that serves as the principal grant recipient of Musk Foundation, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars between 2022 and 2024. It operates Ad Astra, a private K-12 school in Bastrop County, Texas. As a public charity rather than a private foundation, it is not subject to the five-percent minimum distribution requirement. Its board consists entirely of members of Elon Musk’s family office and advisory network.
The Foundation (EIN 92-0742101) is a 501(c)(3) public charity incorporated in Delaware and registered in Texas on February 11, 2022. It operates under PO Box 341886, Austin TX 78734 — the same address used by Musk Foundation, Excession LLC, and at least fifteen other entities in the Musk network 1. Texas records list the entity under the name The X Foundation (TX SOS 0804444372), and LittleSis records identify it under that alias (entity 439493) 2. Its IRS ruling date is April 2023, with NTEE code B20 (elementary and secondary education) 1.
The Foundation received a $100 million seed grant from Musk Foundation in 2022 and $137 million in 2023 3. Subsequent filings indicate approximately $470 million in additional grants from Musk Foundation in 2024 4. Despite cumulative inflows of that scale, the entity recorded total expenses of $85,557 in fiscal year 2024, against net assets of $269.9 million 4. The stated purpose is to establish a K–12 school and, ultimately, a university in Bastrop County, Texas 3.
All four officers — Jared Birchall (President), Ronald Gong (Secretary), Teresa Holland (Treasurer), and Steven Chidester (Trustee) — receive zero compensation 5. Birchall simultaneously heads Excession LLC (the Musk family office) and serves as an officer at Neuralink, xAI, and Musk Foundation. No independent directors, educators, or community representatives sit on the board 5. The Foundation’s primary visible activity is Ad Astra, a private K–6 school in Bastrop County that opened in fall 2024 on land acquired by BSP 2023 LLC, an entity tied to Birchall 6.
Corporate Identity and Registration
The Foundation was incorporated in Delaware and registered in Texas on February 11, 2022, under file number 0804444372 2. Texas records list the entity under the name The X Foundation, with a registered address of 700 Milam Street, Suite 1300, Houston TX, and GKL Registered Agents Inc as the statutory agent 2. The IRS granted 501(c)(3) status with a ruling date of April 1, 2023, classifying the organization under NTEE code B20 (Educational Institutions, K–12) 1.
The entity’s mailing address — PO Box 341886, Austin TX 78734 — is shared by Musk Foundation (EIN 85-2133087), Excession LLC, and at least fifteen additional entities in the Musk network 1. No employees, fundraising expenditures, or programmatic staff are listed in any filed 990 return 4.
Financial Activity
Musk Foundation (EIN 85-2133087) provided The Foundation with a $100 million seed grant in 2022 and $137 million in 2023 3. Subsequent filings indicate approximately $470 million in additional grants from Musk Foundation in 2024 4.
For the fiscal year ending June 2024, The Foundation reported revenue of $138.3 million (99.1 percent from contributions, 0.9 percent from investment income), total expenses of $85,557, net assets of $269.9 million, and total liabilities of $3,989 4. All officers received zero compensation, and no staff wages or fundraising fees appear in the filing. The entity held 736,500 shares of Tesla stock as of end-2022; Bloomberg reported that year that Musk allocated Tesla stock valued at $2.2 billion to The Foundation 36.
Because The Foundation is organized as a public charity rather than a private foundation, it is not subject to the IRC Section 4942 five-percent minimum distribution requirement. Analysis of the filings suggests this arrangement functions as a form of charitable warehousing: grants from Musk Foundation count as qualifying distributions for the private foundation, while The Foundation faces no statutory obligation to deploy the funds on any timeline 7. Records indicate the expenditure rate against the entity’s asset base is approximately 0.03 percent 7.
Governance and Officers
The Foundation has four officers, all uncompensated and all drawn from Elon Musk’s private network 5. Jared Birchall (President) heads Excession LLC, the Musk family office, and simultaneously serves as CEO of Neuralink, CFO of xAI, Treasurer of The Boring Company, and Secretary/Treasurer of Musk Foundation. He is also the disclosed manager of BSP 2023 LLC, the entity that holds the real property on which Ad Astra school operates 6. Ronald Gong (Secretary) and Teresa Holland (Treasurer) work at Catalyst Family Office in California. Steven Chidester (Trustee) is a tax attorney at Withersworldwide, an international law firm with a practice focus in private wealth management 5.
No independent directors, educators, or community representatives appear on the board, despite the entity’s stated educational mission 5. The officer structure — family office head, family office staff, specialist tax counsel — mirrors the governance pattern of other entities in the Musk Entities network. All four officers use PO Box 341886 or a variant address as their registered contact 2.
The Foundation
Operational Activity: Ad Astra
The Foundation’s only disclosed programmatic activity is Ad Astra, a private K–6 school in Bastrop County, Texas, that opened in fall 2024 6. The campus occupies approximately 40 acres acquired by BSP 2023 LLC in April 2023; Jared Birchall is the documented officer of that LLC 6. The site is near the Bastrop County compound that houses SpaceX, The Boring Company, and planned X Corp facilities. According to public reporting and the Foundation’s own 990 descriptions, the school serves employees of those companies, functioning as both an educational program and an employee recruitment amenity 8.
A predecessor school also called Ad Astra operated at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California campus from approximately 2014. The Bastrop campus is presented as the first phase of a planned expansion to a full university — the Texas Institute of Technology and Science — which Musk first announced in 2021 6. Annual operating expenditures totaled $85,557 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, against net assets of $269.9 million 4. No grants to external organizations appear in available 990 filings.
Network Position within Musk Entities
Analysis of 990 filing data suggests The Foundation occupies the second tier of a two-layer charitable structure 7. According to this analysis, Musk Foundation functions as the upstream private foundation — subject to minimum payout requirements and IRS scrutiny — while The Foundation, classified as a public charity, is not bound by distribution minimums 7. Both entities share PO Box 341886 and both list Jared Birchall as a controlling officer 15.
Musk Foundation’s recent grants have been overwhelmingly directed to The Foundation: $137 million in 2023 and approximately $470 million in 2024 34. The entity’s registered name variant — The X Foundation — and the shared address cluster with X Corp entities at PO Box 341886 are documented in registry data, though no corporate relationship between The Foundation and X Corp has been confirmed in available records 2.
The Foundation
All Connections
6 total
All Connections
6 totalMusk Foundation granted 137M to The Foundation in 2023, 100M seed in 2022. Both controlled by Birchall. The Foundation at same PO Box 341886 as Musk family office. 68% of Musk Foundation grants go to Musk-controlled entities.
Birchall is president of The Foundation (EIN 92-0742101), which received $137M from Musk Foundation in 2023 and $470M in 2024
Secretary and director alongside Birchall and Teresa Holland. PO BOX 341886 Austin TX. Also known as The X Foundation.
Both entities share PO BOX 341886, Austin TX 78734; The Foundation is Musk's education-focused 501c3 with M+ revenue
Musk Foundation sends 607M (2022-2024) to The Foundation which warehouses it at 0.03% expenditure rate
Birchall is President of The Foundation while also heading Excession LLC family office and serving as officer at Neuralink, xAI, Boring Company, and Foundation Security
All Findings
9 total
All Findings
9 totalfinancial (5)
The Foundation (EIN 92-0742101): 501(c)(3) at PO Box 341886 Austin TX (Musk family office address). Birchall is president. Received 137M from Musk Foundation in 2023, 100M seed in 2022. Assets 203M (end 2022) including 736,500 shares Tesla stock. Mission: create independent K-12 school and ultimately a university. Operates Ad Astra preschool in Bastrop TX near SpaceX HQ. Only 25K in expenses on 100M revenue — functioning primarily as asset holding vehicle. NTEE code B20 (elementary/secondary education). Ruling date April 2023.
The Foundation (EIN 92-0742101, PO BOX 341886, Austin TX 78734) shares exact same PO Box as Musk Foundation. Filed as 501(c)(3) with ruling date 2023-04-01. NTEE code B20 (Education). 2023 990 shows revenue of .1M, expenses ,385, and assets of M. This is almost certainly the Musk-linked entity referred to as 'The Foundation' or 'The X Foundation' in corporate records. Birchall, Gong, and Holland are known officers.
The Foundation (EIN 92-0742101) is a 501(c)(3) classified as education entity, NTEE B20
The Foundation, also known as the X Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) organization at PO Box 341886, Austin TX 78734. IRS ruling date April 2023. NTEE code B20 (Educational Institutions and Related Activities, K-12). Officers: Jared Birchall (President), Ronald Gong (Secretary), Teresa Holland (Treasurer), Steven Chidester (Trustee). The same PO Box is used by Musk Foundation, Excession LLC, and at least 15 other Musk entities.
The Foundation received 138.3M revenue FY2024 but spent only 85K - extreme asset warehousing
FY ending June 2024: Revenue 138.3M (99.1% contributions, 0.9% investment income), Expenses only 85,557, Net Assets 269.9M, Liabilities 3,989. All officers received zero compensation. No staff wages, no fundraising fees. This entity received 137M from Musk Foundation in 2023 and an additional 470M in 2024, yet operational spending is essentially nil. The money is being accumulated, not deployed for charitable purposes.
The Foundation functions as charitable warehousing - 270M in assets with 85K in expenses
The Foundation exhibits classic charitable warehousing: it receives hundreds of millions from Musk Foundation (counting as qualifying distributions for the private foundation), but deploys almost nothing to actual charitable purposes. With 270M in assets and only 85K in annual expenses, expenditure rate is 0.03%. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity (not a private foundation), so it has NO 5% minimum payout requirement. This creates a two-layer shelter: Musk Foundation distributes to The Foundation (meeting some of its 5% obligation), then The Foundation can sit on the money indefinitely. Board is entirely Musk-controlled: Birchall (family office head), Gong and Holland (Catalyst Family Office staff), Chidester (tax attorney at Withersworldwide). No independent board members.
relationship (2)
The Foundation board has zero independent members - entirely Musk family office and advisors
All four officers of The Foundation are Musk insiders: Jared Birchall (President) - head of Musk family office Excession LLC, CEO of Neuralink, CFO of xAI, CEO of Foundation Security, treasurer of Boring Company. Ronald Gong (Secretary) - works at Catalyst Family Office in California. Teresa Holland (Treasurer) - works at Catalyst Family Office in California. Steven Chidester (Trustee) - tax attorney at Withersworldwide, international law firm specializing in wealth management. No independent board members, no academic educators, no community representatives despite the entity's stated educational mission.
The Foundation operates Ad Astra school in Bastrop on land held by BSP 2023 LLC (Birchall entity)
The Foundation's primary visible activity is operating Ad Astra school, a private K-6 school in Bastrop County TX that opened fall 2024. The school is located on approximately 40 acres purchased by BSP 2023 LLC in April 2023 (Birchall-tied entity). The campus is near Musk's corporate compound housing SpaceX, Boring Company, and soon X (Twitter). Plans include expansion to a university, the Texas Institute of Technology and Science, which Musk originally announced as 'TITS' in 2021. In 2022, Musk allocated Tesla stock valued at 2.2B to The Foundation via Bloomberg reporting. Despite receiving over 600M since 2022, the school serves a small number of students ages 3-9 and has negligible operating costs (85K annual expenses).
intelligence (1)
The Foundation (TX 0804444372, inc 2022-02-11) is a Foreign Nonprofit Corporation also known as The X Foundation. Registered at 700 Milam Street Suite 1300 Houston TX. Officers: Birchall (president and director), RONALD F. GONG (secretary and director, PO BOX 341886), TERESA HOLLAND (treasurer and director, PO BOX 341886). Agent: GKL Registered Agents Inc (1200 Steck Ave Ste 200 Austin TX). This entity shares the PO BOX 341886 address pattern. The X Foundation naming suggests connection to X Corp (formerly Twitter). Gong and Holland are additional Musk network officers who warrant further investigation.
identity (1)
'The Foundation' (EIN 92-0742101) also known as 'X Foundation' per LittleSis aliases. Tax-exempt since April 2023, NTEE code B20 (Education). Same PO Box 341886, Austin TX 78734 as all Musk entities. Officers: Jared Birchall (President), Ronald Gong (Secretary), Teresa Holland (Treasurer), Steven Chidester (Trustee) -- all taking $0 compensation. Received $100.1M revenue in 2023 with only $25K in expenses, accumulating $202.9M in assets. Operates Ad Astra elementary school in Bastrop TX near Musk's SpaceX/Boring Company operations, serving as employee childcare/recruitment tool.