On October 9, 2026, Elon Musk was honored as an industrial titan and one of the greatest technology founders. He received the National Medal of Science for engineering achievements that have pushed the frontiers of space exploration, intelligence systems, communications, and beyond, renewing American technological leadership and opening a new chapter in American manufacturing.
Donald Trump praised Musk, highlighting several of his achievements:
* Elon founded SpaceX in 2002 with his life savings, creating the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit.
* SpaceX "saved NASA from relying on foreign nations to send our astronauts into space."
* SpaceX was congratulated on the "safe return of Crew 12 from the International Space Station just a few hours ago."
* Under Elon's leadership, SpaceX developed Starship, the largest rocket in history, which "caught out of thin air for rapid reuse."
* SpaceX also created Starlink, the largest communication satellite network. Trump recounted how Starlink saved "hundreds of lives" in North Carolina during a hurricane by providing essential communication.
* Elon created Tesla, the "first successful new car manufacturer in over 75 years," producing the "first commercially viable electric cars with the first consumer self-driving technology." Trump mentioned his uncle, Dr. John Trump, who determined Nikola Tesla was a "true and great genius."
* Through Neuralink, Elon is "restoring sight, speech, and motion to those who cannot see, talk, or move."
* Elon turned SpaceX AI into "one of the world's leaders in superintelligence."
* Elon Musk was lauded as "our modern-day Thomas Edison."
The podcast host then criticized the "prior presidential administration," referring to "Joe Biden," for its "overt, brazen hostility toward Elon Musk." The host detailed several past news items illustrating this perceived hostility:
* **August 2021:** The Biden administration held an EV summit, inviting "government motors, Ford and Stellantis," but excluded Tesla, "far and away the leader in electric vehicles."
* Following this, Joe Biden "falsely claims that GM had led the electric vehicle revolution," attributing it to "Mary B. Esparra."
* **The following month:** The "Build Back Better plan proposed giving an extra $4,500 EV credit to union built cars," which would have put Tesla at a "massive disadvantage" as it is not unionized.
* **The same month:** The "Inspiration 4 flight," the "first all-civilian orbital flight" by an American company, received "absolute radio silence" from the Biden administration.
* Joe Biden "suggested in a press conference that it was worth looking into Elon Musk's ties to other countries."
* A Starlink contract to deliver rural broadband services, which Starlink had won, was "rescinded, revoked by the FCC," with "Brendan Carr" publicly dissenting against the decision as "regulatory harassment."
* The "US Justice Department sued SpaceX for not hiring asylees and refugees," which the host noted "would have been illegal due to export control rules." The lawsuit was "dropped pretty quickly."
The host then presented "massive news today" further proving Musk's and his companies' innovation:
* **News Item 1: Building the World's Most Advanced Mobile Network:** SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire a "nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band." This "prime low-band spectrum" addresses a key technical gap, paving the way for Starlink Mobile to become a "major mobile carrier in the US," by allowing its signal to "penetrate through obstacles such as walls and can provide service to customers' devices even when they are in buildings."
* **News Item 2: FCC Approval for Next-Gen Starlink Mobile Constellation:** The "FCC approved the next-gen Starlink Mobile Constellation consisting of 15,000 satellites to deliver mobile service." This is notable as it's the same FCC that previously revoked an awarded Starlink contract.
* **Market Impact:** Following this news, shares of the "big three mobile carriers in the US" (HT Mobile, AT&T, Verizon Communications) were "all down close to 7%," resulting in a combined "$940 billion market cap drop."
The host concluded by emphasizing the "speed at which SpaceX is pursuing a literal handful of multi-decker trillion dollar opportunities," including AI compute business, AI models, Starlink home broadband, enterprise broadband, cell service, and the launch business.