Elon Musk appears to have taken a page out of President Trump’s book as he’s suggested renaming another body of water – this time, the focus is on the English Channel.

Musk has suggested a name change of his own. Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty

During Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, he laid out a bizarre claim that left many people – including Hillary Clinton – laughing.

The new POTUS declared that his new administration would be renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

And despite the skeptism from some social media users, Trump swiftly signed a number of executive orders, including one outlining the directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The order argues for rebranding geographic features to “honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans,” as reported by The Guardian.

Trump declared he would rename the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty

In the executive order, the Gulf is described as “an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation” and “a crucial artery for America’s early trade and global commerce”. As a result, Trump and other officials can now change the name of the Gulf on official US government documents – which they have been doing.

Now, it looks like his billionaire buddy Elon Musk wants in on the action, as he’s taken to X to share his thoughts on the English Channel.

For those who may not know, the English Channel is the strait that separates the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France.

The English Channel. Credit: Google Earth

As well as connecting the southern part of the North Sea to the western end of the Atlantic Ocean, it remains one of the business shipping lanes in the world. It even boasts a 31-mile-long underground tunnel connecting England and France.

The name ‘English Channel’ dates back to the late 16th century, where it was referred to as “The Canal Between England and France” on Dutch sea atlases, per RGM. Over time, it became the accepted English name.

But Musk appears to want to change all that, as he shared a tweet with the caption: “New name for the water that separates England and France.”

The tweet included an image of the English Channel, but it had been renamed “The George Washington Channel”.

Musk shared his idea on X. Credit: X

And, after the tweet received over 100 million views, there were thousands of replies – and it’s safe to say that people were divided.

“You’re gonna give Starmer a heart attack,” one person said, in reference to UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer.

One person tentitively suggested: “Dear Americans, please respect countries with history and culture while you make America great again. You need allies, after all. And who are your allies in this world?”

Another asked: “What’s with this obsession now to change the names of geographical landmarks?”

Other replies ranged from the utterly bewildering to the downright bizarre.

President Donald Trump didn’t waste any time implimenting his changes. Credit: Ian Maule/Getty Images

Of course, despite the US Government pushing forward with the Gulf of America name change, not everybody is on board.

You see, Trump cannot force companies or other nations to follow suit and adopt the name change.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the change outright, stating: “For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico.”

The UK government also confirmed it would not adopt the new name.

According to The Telegraph, the name will not change on British maps unless the term “Gulf of America” becomes the dominant usage in the English language.

A government source explained that the name “cannot be universally changed by a single country”.

The Mexican President has waved away the notion of renaming the body of water. Credit: Manuel Velasquez/Getty

The decision has also drawn criticism from those questioning its practicality and impact on international relations.

Pressure also mounted on technology companies like Google and Apple to update their mapping platforms to reflect the new name.

Google has since issued a statement this week saying: “We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

Google said the changes – for both the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali – will be made “quickly” once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.

“When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name,” the company said on Monday. “Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.”

But something tells me that The George Washington Channel just isn’t going to take off…