Trump awards Elon Musk National Medal of Science at White House tech summit: What to know

U.S. President Donald Trump presented the National Medal of Science—the nation's highest honor for scientific and technological achievement—to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a White House tech summit.

During the presentation, President Trump lauded Musk as a "titan," a "genius," and a "modern-day Thomas Edison," highlighting his work spearheading SpaceX, Tesla, and advanced technological developments.

Musk was joined by several other prominent tech leaders who received top U.S. science and technology honors at the event, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell.

As part of the political reconciliation, the high-profile ceremony underscores Musk's full return to President Trump's political orbit following past friction, highlighting a renewed cooperative relationship focused heavily on American technological and artificial intelligence dominance.

The group was recognized for pushing the boundaries of global technology and ensuring that the United States maintains its competitive edge in critical sectors like artificial intelligence and advanced engineering.

The ceremony highlighted a broader cooperative push between the administration and industry leaders to secure American technological dominance.