Jared Birchall, Elon Musk's asset manager and head of his family office, is listed as chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a long-time Musk worker who worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is called because the official contact.
But they don’t have anything to do with Musk's recent tech company or the political operation that endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re linked to the billionaire's recent Montessori school called Ad Astra outside Bastrop, Texas, based on documents filed with state authorities and obtained through a Texas Public Information Act request.
The world's richest person runs an overlapping empire of six firms – or seven for those who include his political motion committee. In addition to rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the subsequent Trump administration, he’s increasingly focused on education, from preschool through college. Part of his efforts were revealed last 12 months when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had committed about $100 million to create a technology-focused elementary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. According to the Musk Foundation's most up-to-date tax filing, it committed an extra $137 million in money and stock last 12 months.
Ad Astra is near becoming a reality. State documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the best way for the middle to operate with as much as 21 students. Ad Astra's website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school's account on
To operate the college, Ad Astra is partnering with an organization with billionaire experience: Xplor Education, which developed the Hala Kahiki Montessori School in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. Founder Larry Ellison belongs.
Ad Astra is positioned on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and a part of a region home to several of Musk's firms. On a recent weekday morning visit, a single Toyota Prius sat within the car parking zone and nobody answered the door of the white constructing with a gray metal roof. The school's important entrance was blocked by a gate and there was no sign of youngsters on the premises.
But the data that exists about Ad Astra makes it sound like a reasonably typical, albeit high-quality, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “themed, STEM-based activities and projects” in addition to outdoor play and nap times. A sample snack calendar with carrots and hummus. Although Birchall and Balajadia's names appear in the applying, it will not be clear whether they’ll play a major role once the college is operational.
Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t reply to emailed questions. A call and email to the college went unanswered.
Access to quality, reasonably priced child care is a serious issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be a very vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “childcare deserts” where there’s either no facility or no available space gives. The opening of Ad Astra gives Musk the chance to showcase his vision for education and his support for hands-on learning and problem-solving, an indicator of his industrial firms. His public statements on learning often intersect with cultural causes popular with conservatives and the “Make America Great Again” movement, and sometimes deal with what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers who spread left-wing propaganda. He has spoken out against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, posting in August that “many schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.”
Musk's educational interests fit his recent role as Trump's “first buddy.” The billionaire has envisioned a task he – and now the brand new Trump administration – calls “DOGE,” or “Department of Government Efficiency.” Although not an actual division, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education has spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in American schools,” the Dec. 12 report said.
Back in Texas, Bastrop quickly becomes a serious draw for Musk. The Boring Co., his tunnel construction company, relies there in an unincorporated area. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites in a 46,000-square-foot facility.
Nearby, X is constructing a constructing for trust and security forces. Musk employees and most of the people can buy snacks at Boring Bodega, a supermarket in Musk's Hyperloop Plaza that also features a bar, candy store and hair salon.
“Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and developers,” the college’s website says. A job posting on the Montessori Institute of North Texas website states: “As their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide. “
The school has hired an executive director, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg from Texas Health and Human Services. According to the documents, Ad Astra is located on a 40-acre property that says a 4,000-square-foot house will be converted for the preschool.
It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to be interested in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, chairman of the Texas-based grocery chain HEB, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded Raise Your Hand Texas, which advocates for school funding, teacher staffing and retention issues, and full funding for pre-kindergarten.
“Musk is not the only business owner who recognizes the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “Many politicians and business people are excited about education in general – and preschool in particular – because they are overwhelmed by the prospect of a better workforce.”
Political moves
Musk spent much of October actively promoting Trump's presidential effort and have become probably the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He donated no less than $274 million to political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political motion committee he founded.
While the overwhelming majority of cash raised by America PAC got here from Musk himself, the corporate also received support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary during Trump's first term, donated $250,000, federal records show.
The Ministry of Education is already within the crosshairs of the brand new government. Trump campaigned on the thought of dismantling the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also targeted transgender rights.
“Instead of indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual and political material, which we are doing now, our schools must be completely refocused to prepare our children for success in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform.
Musk has three children with musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who prior to now was actively involved with Neuralink, his brain-machine interface company. All are under five years old. Musk recently took X, his son with Grimes, on a visit to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he presented a graph showing the expansion of leadership in America's public schools since 2000.
Tuition fees
Musk is a fan of practical education. During a Tesla conference call in 2018, he spoke in regards to the need for more electricians as the electrical automotive maker expanded the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said that “too many smart people are going into finance and law.”
“I have great respect for people who work with their hands, and we need electricians, plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “This is much more important than additional courses in political science.”
Ad Astra's website says tuition will initially be subsidized, but in coming years “tuition fees will be in line with local private schools that offer an extended day program.”
“I think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to give children skills that they will find useful later in life and to banish any kind of social propaganda from the classroom.”
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