Claim:

An audio recording authentically captured U.S. President Donald Trump comparing Tesla CEO Elon Musk to "Isaac Neutron" rather than English physicist Isaac Newton.

In mid-March 2025, a rumor spread that U.S. President Donald Trump compared Tesla CEO Elon Musk to "a modern-day Isaac Neutron." Social media posts shared audio that implied Trump mispronounced the name of renowned 17th-century English physicist Isaac Newton.

Users on TikTok spread the rumor, reposting a clip that in says: "It's fantastic, fantastic. He was a smart guy. You know Tesla. First the lightbulb and now this. Seems like a modern-day Isaac Neutron." One user captioned their video: "We're being pranked right? RIGHT? The US has become the laughing stock of the entire world" (archived, archived, archived, archived, archived).

Elsewhere, users on X, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (archived, archived, archived, archived) shared the audio, while outlets including the English-language Indian news aggregator Times Now and the English-language Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune (archived, archived) reported that Trump made the alleged comment during a showcase of Tesla cars on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025. Snopes readers also wrote in to ask us whether the audio was legitimate.