Elon Musk gets US’s National Medal of Science:Donald Trump says, ‘Elon is the Thomas Edison of our time and has turned science into reality’

US President Donald Trump honoured Elon Musk with the National Medal of Science at the ‘Science: A New Golden Age Summit’ held at the White House on Thursday. Praising Musk’s contributions to space exploration, technology and innovation, Trump described him as a ‘national treasure’ and the ‘Thomas Edison of the modern era’. Before presenting the award, Trump described Musk as an industrial giant, a brilliant engineer and one of the greatest technology founders of all time. He said Musk’s talent and determination had turned science fiction into reality. Trump praised Musk’s role at Tesla Trump also praised Musk’s role in founding Tesla. He described Tesla as the first new car manufacturer to succeed in more than 75 years and said the company had made electric cars and self-driving technology commercially successful. Trump also mentioned his uncle, Dr John Trump, who had been appointed by the US government to assess the work of inventor Nikola Tesla. He also praised Musk’s work on Neuralink and superintelligence. Trump said Musk was working to restore sight, speech and the ability to walk in people who had lost them. The National Medal of Science was established in 1959 Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su were also honoured with the National Medal of Science. Meanwhile, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella were awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. This was the first time during both of Trump’s terms in office that he awarded the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Musk spent $250 million on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign Elon Musk became one of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters during the 2024 US presidential election, spending $250 million on his campaign. After Trump won, he gave Musk a key role in the government. Trump appointed Musk to lead the department tasked with reviewing government spending and operations. Musk left the post in May 2025 amid a dispute over tariffs. Trump later claimed that he had fired Musk. In June 2025, Musk also called a new bill on government spending “disgusting”. Trump reacted angrily and threatened to end subsidies for Musk’s companies. Musk later expressed regret over some of his social media posts targeting Trump. The two met at an event held in September 2025 in memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. They shook hands and spoke, after which their relationship began to normalise. Who was Edison, whom Trump compared Musk to? American scientist Thomas Alva Edison is best known for his work on the electric light bulb. He also worked on sound-recording devices and early motion-picture technology. He held 1,093 patents. Several scientists had tried to produce electric light before Edison. His major contribution was developing a bulb that could last longer and be practical for everyday use. He experimented with different types of filaments before succeeding with a carbon filament that could last for more than 40 hours. Built a laboratory at home at the age of 10 Thomas Edison was born on 11 February 1847 in Milan, Ohio, US. He was an average student but had a keen interest in learning new things and conducting experiments. At around 10, he set up a small laboratory at home. His mother gave him a chemistry book, which further fuelled his interest. From sound recording to films Edison developed the phonograph, a device that could record sound and play it back. His laboratory also contributed to the development of early motion-picture technology. He died on 18 October 1931, but his inventions continue to make him one of the world’s best-known scientists. Spoke about electric cars and solar energy 100 years ago In an old interview, Edison discussed the potential of electric cars, flying machines and new energy sources. He believed that lighter, more efficient batteries could increase the use of electric cars. He also suggested that the military could play a role in developing flying machines. Edison also spoke about generating electricity from solar and wind power, as well as ocean tides. He believed that once coal ran out, the world would have to depend on alternative energy sources.