No proof Musk's $5.7B charity donation in 2021 broke any records
In late March 2025, numerous headlines and social media posts shared the rumor that tech billionaire Elon Musk set a world record by donating $5.7 billion to charity in 2022.
For instance, one Facebook post, which had more than 227,000 reactions as of this writing, stated that "in 2022, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, set a world record for the largest charitable donation by a car company owner, contributing an astounding $5.7 billion to various global causes." It continued:
This massive philanthropic gesture, filed through a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure, marked a pivotal moment in tech industry philanthropy, surpassing donations from other billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Musk's donation focused on causes such as sustainability, education, and healthcare, aligning with his broader commitment to tackling pressing global challenges.
As a leading tech philanthropist, Musk's generosity underscores his vision of using wealth from electric vehicles and space exploration to create lasting positive change
(Facebook user Chef Andrew Gruel)
"Elon Musk Sets World Record with $5.7 Billion Charitable Donation in 2022," read another Facebook post with the claim. Similar text was also copy-pasted in numerous posts on X, Facebook, Bluesky and Threads.
In short, Musk did donate approximately $5.7 billion worth of Tesla stock to a charitable organization in late 2021, as revealed by a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. While the filing did not specify the recipient, Bloomberg reported the donation went to the Musk Foundation, a private foundation Musk controls.
Musk's donation was not recognized as a world record by any credible authority, and there was a record of a larger charitable donation. However, it was unclear whether Musk's donation was the "largest charitable donation by a car company owner."
Guinness World Records confirmed to us via email that Musk's donation did not surpass its record for the largest single private charitable donation. That record is held by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, who donated $6 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in August 1999 — equivalent to about $10 billion in 2021 dollars, adjusted for inflation.
A February 2022 SEC filing revealed Musk donated 5 million Tesla shares, reportedly worth around $5.7 billion at the time, between Nov. 19 and 29, 2021.
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission/Snopes Illustration)
At the time, Al Jazeera, for instance, described it as "one of the largest philanthropic donations in history."
While the filing did not disclose the name of the charity, Bloomberg reported the money went to the Musk Foundation, his own charity.
Musk was not originally included in the 2021 Philanthropy 50 list of America's top donors because the in-question donation wasn't disclosed until 2022. However, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the donation would have made him the second-largest donor of 2021, behind only Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, who topped the list with a $15 billion pledge to their foundation.
In an article explaining how The Chronicle compiled its list, the organization noted "not all philanthropists publicly disclose details about their giving, and they are not legally required to do so."
Multiple Facebook posts spreading the claim redirected users via comment sections to questionable websites (example, example, example, example), all of which contained identical, copy-pasted text.
The articles were titled "Elon Musk's 2021 $5.7 billion 'mystery gift' went to his foundation" and stated: "Elon Musk donated $5.7 billion in Tesla stock to his foundation in 2021, which was the largest charitable donation ever made by a car company owner at the time."
The language used in the social media posts and the article promoting the rumor appeared unnatural and was likely AI-generated. The AI-detection tool ZeroGPT indicated that the text, often copy-pasted across multiple posts, was generated by artificial intelligence.
(ZeroGPT)
Users often shared the claim alongside an image showing telltale signs of being generated by AI. Hive Moderation's tool flagged the image as likely AI-generated.
(Hive Moderation)
In February 2025 we investigated a similar rumor that Musk donated $112 million of Tesla stock to help homeless people. We found that while he did donate around $112 million worth of Tesla shares, there is was no proof it specifically went to help the homeless.
AI Detector - Trusted AI Checker for ChatGPT, GPT4 & Gemini. https://www.zerogpt.com/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
Clarke, Amelia. "Here's What We Know about Musk's Donation of Tesla Shares to Charity." Snopes, 26 Feb. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/musk-tesla-shares-charity/.
"Elon Musk Donated $5.7BN Worth of Tesla Shares to Charity." Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/2/15/elon-musk-donated-5-7bn-worth-of-tesla-shares-to-charity. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=elon+musk+world+record+donation&oq=elon+musk+world+record+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgBEAAYgAQyCggCEEUYFhgeGDkyBwgDEAAYgAQyCAgEEAAYFhgeMgYIBRBFGDwyBggGEEUYPDIGCAcQRRg80gEINzMyN2owajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
---. https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Guinness+World+Records%22+and+%22Musk%22+and+%22donation%22&sca_esv=cc17e54ac3639420&ei=WLnqZ-vNFqW-wPAPjLi4qQQ&ved=0ahUKEwjr2ZLV1bSMAxUlHxAIHQwcLkUQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=%22Guinness+World+Records%22+and+%22Musk%22+and+%22donation%22&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
Hive Moderation. https://hivemoderation.com/ai-generated-content-detection. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
"Philanthropy 50: List of America's Top 50 Donors of 2021." AP News, 8 Feb. 2022, https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-mark-zuckerberg-michael-bloomberg-bill-gates-ca69a9d9c728993f121a030cd45cd399.
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