President Trump has presented Elon Musk with the National Medal of Science, praising him as “an industrial titan, a brilliant engineer, and one of the greatest technology founders to ever live.” Musk received the medal Thursday at the White House’s Science: A New Golden Age Summit, alongside fellow science medalists including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Lisa Su, while Dell CEO Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
This is the first time Trump has handed out either award in either of his terms.
What Trump Said About Musk and Tesla
Trump’s speech walked through Musk’s companies one by one. He celebrated SpaceX for Starship and Starlink, and recalled calling Musk to get Starlink equipment to North Carolina after a major hurricane cut off communications, saying it saved hundreds of lives.
Tesla got its own nod, too. Trump described it as “the first successful new car manufacturer in over 75 years, producing the first commercially viable electric cars with the first consumer self-driving technology.” He also told a story about his uncle, Dr. John Trump, who studied Nikola Tesla’s work for the government, before wrapping up with “Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison” and calling him a friend.
You can watch Trump’s full speech below (via @SawyerMerritt):
Musk later thanked the teams at Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company on X. The honor comes as Musk recently reclaimed his spot as the world’s first and only trillionaire after a dip in his on-paper wealth.
From Feud to Medal
Thursday’s heartfelt moment is a long way from summer 2025, when the two had a public falling out over Trump’s spending bill. It came shortly after Musk stepped away from leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the Trump administration. Trump threatened to end EV subsidies — which he eventually did — and SpaceX’s government contracts.
Musk has since admitted he got too involved in politics, saying in a July interview, “I think I got a little too involved in politics,” and has refocused on his companies. The relationship between arguably the two most powerful men in America has warmed again, with Musk joining Trump on an official visit to China and attending the White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping in September.
Trump’s views on EVs haven’t shifted as much. At a rally in Las Vegas in August, he called EV drivers “crazy” and mocked range anxiety as a “disease”, even while saying “We love Elon.” Now he’s handed the nation’s top science honor to the person most responsible for bringing EVs into the mainstream.
Full Self-Driving (Supervised) has a new name in Europe. Tesla has officially renamed it “Tesla Assisted Driving” across the continent, and its European websites now show the new name, as reported by @SawyerMerritt on X.
The change follows discussions with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Transport, and as Merritt put it, “should help with getting EU-wide approval.”
Not a Tesla App
Why Tesla Renamed FSD in Europe
Just a couple of days ago, we reported that Germany was willing to support FSD in the EU vote if Tesla renamed it to Tesla Assisted Driving, or TAD. Federal Transport Minister Bilger reportedly reached an agreement with Tesla in September, and the ministry said the system shows strong performance in urban traffic based on its findings so far.
Germany also wants Tesla to limit the system to exceeding the posted speed limit by no more than 10%. Tesla hasn’t confirmed whether it has made that change yet. That condition targets FSD’s Speed Offset feature, which can currently exceed limits by up to 50% in some conditions. Germany had already raised concerns about overspeeding, and Sweden has urged the EU to reject FSD over the same issue. FSD has also faced pushback from France and road safety groups like the European Transport Safety Council over speeding concerns. To fully win over Germany, Tesla will likely need to cap or remove Speed Offset in its European FSD (TAD?) build.
The TAD name isn’t new, either. FSD is also expected to relaunch in China as Tesla Assisted Driving when it eventually returns there, based on updates to Tesla’s Chinese owner’s manuals earlier this year.
Germany still hasn’t approved the system for its own roads, although that may change now that Tesla is cooperating with its demands. Regardless, backing from Europe’s largest car market could carry weight in Brussels. With the rename official, the remaining question is whether a capped Speed Offset will be enough to win over Sweden, France, and other skeptics before December’s vote.
