- Trump to award National Medal of Science to Elon Musk and other leaders at the White House.
- White House expresses gratitude for recipients' contributions, underscores U.S. innovation leadership.
- This marks Trump's first presentation of the National Medal of Science during his term; all recipients are tech company leaders.
- Musk-Trump relationship has shifted significantly; award symbolizes progress in ties.
Elon Musk will receive the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on scientists and engineers. According to a Wednesday report from Fox News Digital, President Trump will present the National Medal of Science to Musk on Thursday at the White House's "Science: The New Golden Age Summit." Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will also receive the same award, while Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will be awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
White House officials subsequently confirmed the list to Reuters. "The Trump administration is deeply grateful for the contributions of these remarkable science and technology leaders. These recipients are helping ensure the United States continues to lead the world in innovation," White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Fox News.
Trump's first presentation of National Medal of Science
This will mark the first time Trump has presented these awards during his two terms. Congress established the National Medal of Science in 1959, administered by the National Science Foundation; since then, 529 scientists and engineers have received it. A presidential committee reviews nominations, but the final decision rests with the president. Thursday's honorees are all company founders or leaders, three of whom hold key positions in the superintelligence hardware race in which Musk is engaged. Jensen Huang's Nvidia supplies the GB300 chips needed for SpaceX's Colossus 2 cluster, while Lisa Su's AMD is Nvidia's largest competitor in the data center GPU space.
Notably, Trump's uncle, MIT physicist John G. Trump, received the National Medal of Science from President Reagan for his research on ionizing radiation and its applications in medicine and industry. For Musk, the medal is the latest symbol of the evolution in his relationship with Trump, which has changed significantly since their 2025 falling out over the "Beautiful Act." Last week, he sat to Trump's left at a White House luncheon where AI executives signed a voluntary safety agreement, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appointed him to help lead the Pentagon's "Project Meridian" research into future warfare.
Shift in Musk-Trump relationship
Musk has also adopted the administration's new terminology, stating on Sunday that SpaceXAI will be renamed SpaceXSI because Trump ordered federal agencies to replace "artificial intelligence" with "superintelligence." Musk has previously received scientific honors, including the 2019 Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.
Trump's awards and ties to tech leaders
Trump's presentation of the National Medal of Science is not only an affirmation of tech leaders but also a demonstration of the United States maintaining its leadership in global innovation competition. Recipients such as Elon Musk and Jensen Huang play pivotal roles in advancing technology. The conferral of these awards also reflects the Trump administration's emphasis on technological innovation and its importance to the economy. Moreover, the shift in the Musk-Trump relationship highlights the interaction between the tech world and the political sphere, which could influence future policy directions, particularly in artificial intelligence and defense technology.