The Texas Institute of Technology and Science (TITS) is a proposal by

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

to open a university in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Background

Musk's personal views include frequent criticism of the American education system. In 2014, he founded Astra Nova School (then Ad Astra School) after pulling his five children out of school because he disapproved of the curriculum, and how it was presented. In October 2021, Musk tweeted that he would start a new university named Texas Institute of Technology and Science, which corresponds to the

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

TITS. Musk added, "it will have epic merch, universally admired". The name, specifically the acronym, was criticized as sexist. Afterwards,

Cher Scarlett Cher Scarlett (born ) is an American software engineer, workers' rights activist, and writer who is known for starting #AppleToo. She has organized staff at Apple, Activision Blizzard, and Starbucks. Scarlett, who has bipolar disorder, experi ...

, a

software engineer Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...

and one of the leaders of the #AppleToo anti-

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...

group at

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, described Musk of contributing to a systemic problem in which women in technology companies are being

sexualized Sexualization (sexualisation in Commonwealth English) is the emphasis of the sexual nature of a behavior or person. Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification, treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. According to the Ame ...

by male colleagues, originating from executives at the top influencing the company culture downwards.

Initial funding

In December 2023, tax records revealed that Musk had donated $100 million to a new foundation, "The Foundation", set up to create a primary and secondary school focused on teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. The foundation included plans to expand the project to the university level accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

. In 2022, Musk allocated

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from h ...

stock valued at $2.2 billion to The Foundation, as reported by Bloomberg. According to the report, the university intends to be tuition-free but may consider offering need-based scholarships in the future. The university is expected to receive funding primarily through donations.

References

Elon Musk {{Texas-university-stub