WASHINGTON, Oct 9 — Donald Trump presented Elon Musk with the top US science medal yesterday, as the rocket tycoon fully returned to the president’s orbit after an explosive bust-up.
Six US tech titans received prestigious awards from the president at a Washington peace institute that was itself recently renamed after Trump.
But all eyes were on trillionaire SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk following his acrimonious departure from Trump’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last year.
Trump called Musk a “national treasure” and said that “Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison,” referring to the American inventor of the lightbulb.
“Elon, I want to congratulate you. You’re my friend, and all of that, but you are a very, very special guy,” Trump added at the summit, dubbed “Science: A New Golden Age.
