Elon Musk’s Popularity Declines Amid Government Influence Concerns

Elon Musk, the famous businessman and tech leader, used to be very popular. He worked hard to show everyone he was a great innovator and became the richest person in the world. But recently, his popularity has dropped. A new poll shows that only 33% of U.S. adults like him now—down from 41% in December.

People are worried that Musk has too much power in the government. About two-thirds of adults believe he has too much influence, but this may change soon, as Musk is expected to leave his government role. Despite his efforts to help President Trump cut government jobs, many Americans think Musk has not done a good job. One retiree, Susan, says, “I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.” She believes running a government is different from running a business and that Musk’s business success doesn’t automatically mean he can fix government issues.

Musk created something called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last year, which aimed to reduce the number of federal workers. Sadly, despite firing many employees, canceling contracts, and causing some government offices to halt, he hasn’t met his goal of saving $1 trillion. He has now reduced his savings goal to $150 billion, which might be hard to achieve.

Musk is expected to focus more on Tesla, the electric car company, which has been losing money while he worked with Trump. He mentioned that he will now spend only a day or two each week on government matters.

His views have also changed. Before, he worked on fighting climate change and often supported Democrats. Now, he is more conservative and worries about things like the government spending too much money. His polling numbers reflect this shift—only about 20% of independents and 10% of Democrats view him favorably, while about 70% of Republicans do.

In summary, Musk’s direction has led to deeper divides in how people view him, based on their political beliefs. Many Republicans think he is doing a great job, while Democrats and independents are more critical and concerned about cuts to government services.