TapTechNews August 8th news, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is building his education empire in Texas. The private school he founded, AdAstra, has announced that it is accepting applications for children aged 3 to 9 and plans to start school this fall.
The school was initially founded in Los Angeles in 2014, aiming to serve the children of Musk himself and some employees of his companies (such as SpaceX). The school closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now reopening, located in Bastrop, Texas. It is worth noting that the headquarters of Musk's tunneling company, The Boring Company, is also in Bastrop, the Tesla headquarters is located in nearby Austin, and SpaceX is about to officially move to the Starbase in southern Texas.
Musk has a rather unique educational philosophy. He once said that he does not approve of dividing students by grade, but hopes that all children will study together and conduct individualized teaching according to personal abilities and talents. I let all children finish the same grade at the same time, just like an assembly line, Musk said in 2015. It makes more sense to provide education that matches their qualifications and abilities.
The AdAstra school's official website shows that in the 2024-2025 academic year, it plans to enroll 18 children aged 3-6 (called the primary level) and 30 children aged 6-9 (called the lower elementary level), and this kind of classroom setting with a huge age span has aroused external curiosity.
The school claims that its educational philosophy focuses on hands-on practice, project-based learning, and STEM education, aiming to cultivate the next generation of problem solvers and creators.
However, TapTechNews has noticed that Musk's extremely controversial remarks in recent years have cast a shadow over the school. He has repeatedly made racist and hate remarks, which goes against the educational views of most Americans. Although Musk himself will not teach in person, as the founder of the school, his personal image will inevitably affect the school's reputation.
In addition, Musk has purchased a large amount of land in Bastrop since 2021, causing concerns among local residents. They are worried about the impact of SpaceX's launch activities on the environment and the company's handling of wastewater.