Washington: US President Donald Trump has described billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk as a modern-day Thomas Edison, calling him a national treasure whose technological achievements have advanced America’s strategic interests, transformed space exploration and saved lives during natural disasters.
Honouring Musk with the National Medal of Science at the New Golden Age Summit on Thursday, Trump delivered an unusually personal tribute to the SpaceX and Tesla founder, praising his engineering achievements and recalling how his satellite communications network helped people stranded during a devastating hurricane in North Carolina.
“Few Americans in history have done more to advance America’s national interest than Elon, in one field after another, his genius and determination have made science fiction into reality,” Trump said.
The US President credited Musk with changing the economics of space exploration through SpaceX, which he founded in 2002.
He said the company’s development of privately built rockets had reduced America’s dependence on foreign countries for transporting astronauts into space.
Trump also congratulated SpaceX on what he described as the safe return of Crew-12 from the International Space Station just hours before the ceremony.
“SpaceX saved NASA from relying on foreign nations to send our astronauts into space,” he said.
The US President praised Starship, SpaceX’s massive rocket designed for rapid reuse, and Starlink, its satellite communications network.
But his most personal remarks focused on North Carolina, where he said Starlink helped restore vital communications after a hurricane left communities isolated by floodwaters.
Trump recalled receiving an appeal for assistance because residents trapped by flooding had lost their ability to communicate with emergency responders.
He said he contacted Musk directly and that Starlink equipment arrived within hours despite logistical difficulties.
“So I never forgot that experience. It was a terrible time and the job he (Elon Musk) did, and he acted so fast,” Trump added.
The US President claimed the intervention had saved hundreds of lives. The figure was not independently substantiated in the summit transcript.
Trump also praised Musk’s contributions to the automobile industry through Tesla and his work on brain-computer interfaces through Neuralink.
He said Neuralink was developing technology intended to restore functions such as sight, speech and movement to people with severe disabilities.
The US President then recalled an unusual historical connection between his family and the scientist Nikola Tesla.
He said his uncle, Dr. John Trump, a longtime professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had been asked by the US government to assess Tesla’s scientific work.
According to Trump, his uncle concluded that Tesla was a genuine scientific genius.
Trump also highlighted Musk’s involvement in artificial intelligence, placing his achievements within the administration’s broader effort to strengthen American leadership in emerging technologies.
“Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison. And Elon, I wanna congratulate you, you’re my friend and all of that, but you are a very, very special guy,” Trump said.
The National Medal of Science is among America’s highest honours for scientific achievement. Musk received the award for engineering contributions spanning space exploration, communications, intelligence systems and manufacturing.
Musk’s companies operate across several strategically important industries, including commercial space launches, electric vehicles, satellite communications and artificial intelligence. SpaceX has become a major partner of NASA, while Starlink has expanded access to satellite-based internet services in different parts of the world.
–IANS–
