Elon Musk gifts $5 million to Khan Academy via Musk Foundation

One of the world’s richest men and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has donated $5 million to non-profit educational platform Khan Academy through his Musk Foundation.

Founder of Khan Academy, Salman Khan or Sal Khan, thanked the world-renowned billionaire for his donation through a video. He tweeted the same on his personal Twitter handle. “I just want to give a huge shoutout to Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation for their incredibly generous support for Khan Academy,” Salman Khan shared in the video.

Thank you @elonmusk and @MuskFoundation for an incredible $5m donation to @khanacademy. Here is my thank you video:https://t.co/1LyABVmTyt

— Salman Khan (@salkhanacademy) January 12, 2021

“This is going to allow us to accelerate all sorts of content. It will allow us to make the software and the practice that much more engaging for millions of students and teachers around the world,” he said in the video.

Khan Academy’s not-for-profit nature enables billions of students to access science and mathematics-based classes and content, which has especially been a boon in these difficult times. The content is created by a team of experts and is completely free for all students and teachers. Moreover, teachers also have access to a number of tools that can help identify gaps in their students’ understanding.

Khan further shared, “I view this type of investment as really foundational for us to be able to build a multi-generational institution, so that future Elon Musks of the world are also able to tap into their potential and help all of us up-level who we are as a civilisation.”

Musk’s philanthropy often has minimal fanfare. In fact, right after his initial shrug about becoming the world’s richest person, he had tweeted:

Btw, critical feedback is always super appreciated, as well as ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems)

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2021

Musk’s main charitable vehicle has been the Musk Foundation, which he founded in 2002. Musk has also signed the Giving Pledge — the commitment to give away at least half of one’s money to charity — but he is one of its few signatories not to make their pledge letter publicly available on the program’s website.