Sure, but it can't go on megayachts or personal world domination initiatives, and Elon (or anyone else) could make tax deductible donations to those registered

Sure, but it can't go on megayachts or personal world domination initiatives, and Elon (or anyone else) could make tax deductible donations to those registered charities without a foundation in place. Since the foundation publishes accounts, it's actually relatively transparent what he has and the eclectic selection of causes Elon donated to has been fairly widely reported on. It looks considerably more like a man chucking money at a lot of pretty standard causes than say, the obscure nonprofit "to promote interior design" that is the tax-free beneficial owner of Ikea...