Trump calls Elon Musk a ‘national treasure’ and a modern-day Thomas Edison

Donald Trump publicly praised Elon Musk, calling him a “national treasure” and “our modern-day Thomas Edison.” He described Musk as one of the most significant technology founders and said his companies had advanced US national interests.

Focus on SpaceX and Starlink

Trump highlighted SpaceX, pointing to the development of Starship and the growth of the Starlink satellite network. SpaceX’s work with NASA has, in practice, restored the ability to launch US astronauts from American soil and reduced NASA’s dependence on Russian spacecraft for crew transport.

He also claimed that, during a hurricane in North Carolina, he contacted Musk and Starlink equipment reached communities cut off from communications within hours. Trump’s further assertion that the deployment helped save “hundreds of lives” was not accompanied by independent evidence in the initial account and should be understood as his claim.

Tesla, Neuralink and AI

Trump credited Tesla with advancing electric vehicles and cited Neuralink’s work on brain-computer interfaces. Neuralink is testing systems intended to help people with severe mobility impairments control digital devices; restoring sight or speech remains a research and therapeutic ambition rather than an established outcome.

He also portrayed Musk as a leader in the pursuit of highly advanced artificial intelligence and ended by congratulating him. The remarks represent Trump’s political assessment and praise of Musk’s record, rather than an independent validation of every claim made in the speech.