Elon Musk to receive Stephen Hawking award for promoting science
Elon Musk's constant chatter and tweets about everything from "the simulation" to renewable energy have earned him high praise.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, praised for his "astounding accomplishments in space travel," won this year's Stephen Hawking Science Medal for science communication. The other winners are musician Brian Eno and Apollo 11, the recently released documentary about the first moon landing.
SpaceX is known for building next-generation rockets that have launched satellites and delivered supplies to the International Space Station. Its Falcon Heavy successfully launched a Tesla Roadster into space. Eventually, SpaceX's ability to land and reuse rockets could usher in a new era of cheaper space travel.
The medal recognizes people who have brought science into popular culture, whether that's through film, music, television, or other means. Hawking used to select the winners, and apparently had invited Musk to the festival before his death.
Past winners include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and the TV show The Big Bang Theory. This is the first award ceremony since Hawking died in 2018. The award will be presented at the Starmus Festival in Switzerland in June.
While this is a great honor, a different organization, the SEC, looks at Musk's tweets a little differently.
In the past week or so, Tesla's main Twitter account has been giving Musk a run for his money with feisty, over-the-top tweets. Maybe the social media manager will receive the prestigious science award next year.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
