What has Elon Musk said about the English Channel? Tesla CEO says it should be given new name after renaming Gulf of Mexico - what do the French call it?

After Donald Trump ‘renamed’ the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America to “restore names that honour American greatness” it seems that Elon Musk is following suit. The billionaire has come up with a name for The English Channel, also known as the Strait of Dover in some regions.

The tech mogul suggested that the English Channel – the body of water separating England and France – be renamed the “George Washington Channel". In a controversial tweet on X the tech billionaire shared a picture of the Channel with the proposed name adding: “New name for the water that separates England and France”.

The Tesla and X owner did not explain further why the Channel should supposedly be renamed. The proposal, which has amassed over 360k likes, has sparked significant attention and raised questions about Musk’s intentions.

In response one user questioned: “What's with this obsession now to change the names of geographical landmarks?”. Another user said: "It’s ridiculous.

"Why would we spend millions of dollars to change signage and documents? The US doesn’t have the authority to rename international bodies of water. We can call them what we want in our official documents, but that’s not an official name change."

A third added: “This body of water separates England and France. The British call it the English Channel. The French call it The Sleeve (or, La Manche). Let the chaos commence”.

The French call the English Channel La Manche, which translates to "the sleeve". The name has been used since at least the 17th century.

Musk’s tweet comes after he has been deeply critical of the UK government in a series of recent posts on X and unleashed a torrent of criticism on Keir Starmer - even calling for him to be replaced. However, it seems Trump and Musk may be at odds with their views of over the Starmer as yesterday (Sunday 26 January) Trump threw the UK Prime Minister an olive branch and praised him for a "very good job thus far".

Speaking to the BBC on Air Force One, Trump told said: "I get along with him well. I like him a lot. He's liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he's a very good person and I think he's done a very good job thus far."

Trump is planning to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." Following his inauguration, Trump will reportedly issue an executive order renaming the gulf and also reverting the name of Denali - the highest mountain in North America - back to Mount McKinely, according to the New York Post.

Trump insisted earlier this year that the gulf’s name should celebrate the U.S. rather than Mexico. The nations with the most "control" over the gulf are the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba, and for years have shared the body of water. The gulf serves as an important center of economic activity, including fishing, electricity generation, and shipping.