Tech billionaire Elon Musk has tried to revolutionize space travel, the electric vehicle industry, and social media.
Next up on his list? School.
Musk鈥檚 Texas-based private school鈥擜d Astra, meaning 鈥渢o the stars鈥� in Latin鈥攈as been in development for the past year. Last week, the state child-care regulator granted its permit for the site鈥檚 preschool to open in Bastrop, Texas, a city outside Austin that is home to a base for Musk鈥檚 company, SpaceX, .
The school鈥檚 states that it is accepting applications for the current, 2024-25 academic year for both the preschool, open to children ages 3-6, and the lower-elementary school, open to children ages 6-9. It鈥檚 unclear if the lower elementary school is operational as of November.
With Ad Astra, Musk is part of a long line of tech entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities who have started their own education ventures. Among the notable celebrity school founders: LeBron James, Pitbull, and Andre Agassi.
Musk himself opened a separate elementary school, also called Ad Astra, in Hawthorne, Calif., in 2014, which served his own children and several other children of SpaceX employees. Its only directive from Musk when it was founded a decade ago: 鈥淢ake it great,鈥� according
After the California-based Ad Astra closed in 2020, faculty there launched an independent, online-only school called Astra Nova, .
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But now that the Tesla CEO has assumed a role in President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 incoming administration, it鈥檚 an open question how Musk鈥檚 vision for the Texas school may fit into broader plans for K-12 policy.
Ad Astra did not respond to a request for comment sent through the school鈥檚 contact form.
Musk, who Trump tapped to co-lead a new federal 鈥淒epartment of Government Efficiency,鈥� has voiced support for the future president鈥檚 goal of abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. And he has provocative views about pedagogy: Education should be 鈥渁s close to a video game as possible,鈥� Musk has said.
鈥淗e self-identifies as a disruptor,鈥� said Jeffrey Henig, an emeritus professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University and an expert in education philanthropy.
Tax filings from Musk鈥檚 foundations show plans to expand Ad Astra into an elementary and secondary school, as well as a university, according to Fortune.
These plans come as Texas is that would direct public money to private schools鈥攁nd as proposals to expand private school choice gain momentum at the federal level.
Still, Musk likely doesn鈥檛 envision the preschool as a money-making venture, said Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, who researches school choice.
鈥淭he margins on these schools are very thin, and Elon Musk is one of the richest men in the world,鈥� he said.
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It鈥檚 more plausible that Musk is doing what most billionaires do when they get involved in education projects, Cowen said: aiming to promote their values in society by inculcating them in children.
Musk鈥檚 ideology is 鈥渇airly nebulous,鈥� Cowen said. Still, he has offered his perspective on two issues that are polarizing in U.S. schools today: gender identity and how race and racism are portrayed in classrooms. Musk has criticized gender-affirming care and claimed that the current Education Department is 鈥渂asically paying people to hate America.鈥�
Even so, Ad Astra鈥檚 website doesn鈥檛 make mention of those issues.
The school鈥檚 approach is 鈥渃entered around hands-on, project-based learning,鈥� the site says, offering a 鈥減rogressive learning environment that emphasizes the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) into its curriculum.鈥�
Early-elementary curriculum would cover math and science and global citizenship, as well as broader skills like critical thinking, curiosity, and problem-solving and building. Reading and literacy aren鈥檛 mentioned on Ad Astra鈥檚 site.
While the school鈥檚 application form notes that admissions are open to all children, it鈥檚 possible that Musk sees Ad Astra as a way to recruit and retain employees, said Henig.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a businessman who sees this as a way to create a benefit for his employees but have it subsidized by things like education savings accounts,鈥� he said, referencing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 proposal to give families tax dollars for private school expenses.
A bill to offer ESAs failed in the Texas legislature last year but .
Like Cowen, though, Henig doesn鈥檛 see Ad Astra as a business venture meant to make money. If that鈥檚 the case, he said, Musk would likely start to open more locations.
Schools sponsored by wealthy industry leaders or celebrities are often 鈥渇acilitated by a naive view of how easy it would be to outshine the competition,鈥� Henig said.
鈥淭hey start off with a lot of attention and then they kind of fade or drift when it turns out that these star-created schools don鈥檛 prove to be star education performers.鈥�
