Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) on Tuesday will discuss whether to accept a $6 million donation from the Musk Foundation, the philanthropic effort by billionaire Elon Musk, that would fund repairs at three Memphis elementary schools while supporting the district’s students.
The materials prepared ahead of the meeting appear to reveal the bulk of the $6 million will be spent on upgrades to Hawkins Mill Elementary, Westside Elementary, and Whitney Elementary, which were previously proposed as schools to receive students from deteriorating buildings.
Musk’s foundation would also provide approximately $100,000 to implement a reward system to incentivize attendance and improve student behavior, and about $200,000 to support students experiencing homelessness, including help with hygiene, laundry, tutoring, and transportation, according to the materials.
They also show that the MSCS school board members are recommended to accept the offer, but must formally approve any donation over $15,000.
This offer from the Musk Foundation comes after the school board accepted an earlier gift from xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company, whose supercomputer is headquartered in Memphis, which paid for campus upgrades at four of the city’s high schools.
It also follows a $350,000 donation by the Musk Foundation to the Memphis Boys and Girls Club last year.
According to its website, the Musk Foundation offers grants to support advocacy and research of renewable energy, space exploration, pediatrics, science and engineering education, and the “development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity.”
xAI last year received approval from Shelby County to install permanent natural gas turbines to help power its Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, and in November announced plans to build an 88-acre solar power plant, which will eventually provide about 10 percent of the company’s energy needs in the city.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) notified xAI last June of its plans to sue the company after it allegedly skirted regulations by operating temporary turbines on a permanent basis, though researchers published data in September that undermined claims the company’s operations are having an outsized impact on pollution in Memphis.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
