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President Donald Trump presented Elon Musk with the United States' highest scientific honor on Thursday, marking the rocket tycoon's return to the president's orbit following their contentious falling out.
Six titans of American technology received prestigious awards from the president at a Washington Institute of Peace that was recently renamed after Trump.
However, all eyes were on Musk—the billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla—following his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency last year, an agency conceived by Trump to cut federal spending.
The U.S. president described Musk as a "national treasure." "Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison," he said in reference to the American inventor.
Google co-founder Sergei Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Lisa Su also received the National Medal of Science during an event dubbed "Science: A New Golden Age."
Computing mogul Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella were also rewarded with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor in their field.
"The Trump Administration appreciates the contributions of these incredible leaders in science and technology. These awardees are helping to ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in innovation," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in a statement to AFP on Wednesday.
Musk has regained Trump's favor following their disagreement last year stemming from the SpaceX and Tesla mogul's time in the administration.
In recent months, the two men have moved closer again, and Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets have remained a key component of the United States' space and defense program.
Trump considers AI and companies in the sector to be crucial to ensuring that the U.S. economy experiences what he calls a "Golden Age" during his second term.
This Thursday, the president declared that anyone who resists using the term "superintelligence" to refer to artificial intelligence will be treated as an "enemy."
During the medal ceremony, Trump received a frame containing the National Medal of Science, awarded posthumously to his late uncle John Trump, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Who died in 1983, John Trump is a recurring figure in the president's speeches, as he often claims to have inherited his uncle's "highest IQ," attributing it to "good genes."
[Publicidad]