US President Donald Trump has likened the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk to Thomas Edison, claiming he was one of the world’s “great geniuses,” on Wednesday.
When asked about Elon Musk during an interview with CNBC “Squawk Box” co-host Joe Kernen from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump responded:
“I was worried about him, because he’s one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our genius… You know, we have to protect Thomas Edison, and we have to protect all of these people that came up with, originally, the lightbulb, and the wheel and all of these things… And he’s one of our very smart people and we want to cherish those people.”
Donald Trump also recalled earlier times that marked a chaotic ride for the company.
“You go back a year and they were talking about the end of the company. And now all of a sudden they’re talking about these great things.”
A year ago, Tesla shares jumped to near-record levels after the CEO famously tweeted on 7 August 2018 he had “funding secured” to take the company private at $420 a share.
The tweet marked the beginning of 12 months when the Silicon Valley automaker enjoyed both dramatic new performance records and some low points.
In the CNBC interview on Wednesday, the president also marveled at what Musk’s commercial company SpaceX had accomplished with rockets.
“I spoke to him very recently, and he’s also doing the rockets. He likes rockets. And he does good at rockets, too, by the way. I never saw where the engines come down with no wings, no anything, and they’re landing. I said I’ve never seen that before,” said Trump.
Netizens had something to say about President Trump’s interview, as many deplored his verbal “ineptitude.”
Some fans took issue with Trump seeming to imply Thomas Edinson was alive.
Other fans swooped in to mock the president’s mention of the “inventors of the wheel”.
Others seemed genuinely concerned about Donald Trump’s future plans for Elon Musk and Tesla.
Tesla Shares Surge
The US president’s comments about Elon Musk come as shares of Tesla more than doubled in value since late September, hitting all-time highs.
On Wednesday, 22 January, Tesla finished the trading day with a market cap greater than $100 billion for the first time, with stocks shooting up more than 8 percent.