This time, he's not launching rockets or designing electric vehicles. Instead, he's turning his attention to the realm of education with his latest project, Ad Astra, a school for early childhood education.
According to Newsweek, Ad Astra has recently obtained its permit to operate in Bastrop County, Texas. Musk, who is also co-heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for President-elect Donald Trump, has invested a whopping $100 million into the school through his X Foundation. The school is slated to welcome its first students for the 2024-25 academic year, offering a forward-thinking, STEM-centric curriculum for children aged 3 to 9. The institution will be managed by Greg Marick, CEO of Xplor Education, a company that collaborates with U.S. firms to provide Montessori-style programs.
Ad Astra, which translates from Latin as "to the stars," encapsulates Musk's ambition to nurture the upcoming generation of innovators and creators. The school's mission, as stated on its website, is "to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking." The educational approach is hands-on and project-based, encouraging students to explore, experiment, and devise solutions to real-world problems.
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The curriculum is described as a blend of STEM subjects with a variety of activities, from coloring and collage-making to studying maps and globes. The school's funding comes from Musk's X Foundation, a nonprofit organization backed by the Musk Foundation. Documents reviewed by Fortune reveal that nearly $100 million has been earmarked for Ad Astra, positioning it as the launchpad for a wider educational endeavor.
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The school's future plans include expanding into K-12 education and potentially establishing a university in Texas, depending on the success of the program.
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This is not Musk's inaugural venture into the educational sector. In 2014, he established the original Ad Astra School on the SpaceX campus in Hawthorne, California. This institution was initially designed for his children and those of SpaceX employees, with a focus on advanced subjects such as artificial intelligence and robotics, while traditional subjects like music and foreign languages were omitted.
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After Musk's children graduated, the school evolved into Astra Nova, an independent online institution for students aged 10 to 14. Despite high tuition fees, Astra Nova operates as a nonprofit and has reportedly experienced financial losses.
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Musk is not alone in his educational endeavors. Other high-profile figures, including Mark Zuckerberg, Will Smith, Pitbull, and Oprah Winfrey, have also launched educational projects. These initiatives aim to provide innovative alternatives to traditional schooling, but their success has been mixed. Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to reform public schools in Newark, New Jersey, in 2010, for instance, faced criticism for its top-down approach and failure to improve student outcomes.
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As Musk ventures into the realm of education with Ad Astra, it remains to be seen whether his innovative approach will yield the desired results. However, given his track record of disrupting traditional industries, the education sector may be on the brink of a significant transformation.
