Elon Musk has been named among 50 eminent scientists, researchers and engineers as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

The Royal Society was founded in November 1660 by King Charles II and is the oldest national scientific institution in the world.

Its previous Fellows have included scientists as notable as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday and Albert Einstein.

Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society, said: "Our Fellows are key to the Royal Society's fundamental purpose of using science for the benefit of humanity.

"From Norwich to Melbourne to Ethiopia, this year's newly elected Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society are testament that science is a global endeavour and excellent ideas transcend borders.


"We also recognise the cutting edge innovation taking place across industry, with many of this year's Fellows coming from the thriving tech industry.

"For their outstanding contributions to research and innovation, both now and in the future, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the world's best scientists into the ranks of the Royal Society."

SpaceX puts Elon Musk's Tesla electric car in orbit

Mr Musk's official biography describes him as "an internationally renowned engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and is an inspiration to scientists, innovators and thinkers worldwide".

It adds: "He has galvanised true ambition and a spirit of adventure to change the world in the fields of space travel, sustainable electric transportation, solar power, low-cost internet satellites and hypersonic ground transportation.

"His vision extends to securing the future of humankind in colonising Mars."

It does not mention a recent outburst at a Tesla shareholders call in which he called an analyst a "boring bonehead" as he answered questions about a record net loss.

Shares fell 5% - about £1.8bn - in after-hours trading on Wednesday evening in the seconds after the electric car company chief dismissed Bernstein analyst Tony Sacconaghi's question about capital requirements.

There are currently five Royal Fellows of the Royal Society, including Prince Charles, Princess Anne, the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of York.

It is not yet known if Prince Harry will be elected as a Royal Fellow following his marriage to Meghan Markle on 19 May.