Elon Musk’s image has tanked so badly that he is now the public figure that Americans dislike the most, according to a new poll.
Gallup asked Americans between July 7 and July 21 what they thought of 14 well-known U.S. and global figures, with 61 percent of respondents having an unfavorable opinion of the Tesla billionaire. Six percent said they had no opinion of Musk, while just 33 percent reported a positive view.
The Tesla CEO bankrolled President Trump’s march to the White House, splurging almost $300 million backing his campaign. Musk grew close to the MAGA leader, becoming known as his “first buddy” and heading up his cost-cutting task force, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
However, the relationship soured as quickly as it blossomed, and Musk was sent packing from Trump’s administration with little to show for it.
This has been reflected in several polls, most recently the damning Gallup survey that shows his popularity below even that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Compared to January’s findings, Musk’s reputation has plummeted faster than Tesla’s sales. His net favorability rating of -4 at the start of the year has worsened to -28 now.
Others in Trump’s orbit that featured in the Gallup poll all had a negative net favorability rating.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had the best score, on -5. That put him slightly ahead of former President Joe Biden, who equaled Trump’s Vice President JD Vance’s score of -11.
Further down the list is President Trump himself on -16—the same rating given to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. All of the Trump administration figures were bested by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (-4) and her anti-oligarchy tour ally, Sen. Bernie Sanders (11).
Even they were eclipsed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (18)—who Trump called a “dictator”—and Pope Leo XIV (46), the first American pontiff.
Musk’s public image has taken a beating since he entered the Trump administration as a “special government employee” in January.
He alienated Democrats—who gave him a staggering -86 net favorability rating in the Gallup poll—with his foray into MAGA politics, and then rankled Trump’s base when he dared to speak ill of the president publicly, culminating in a spectacularly messy divorce where the Tesla chief claimed Trump is named in the Epstein files.
Musk’s companies have suffered, too. Last month, Tesla posted a 16 percent drop in net income for the second quarter of 2025 and a 12 percent fall in revenue for the same period.
According to a study by Williams College, Musk has even turned people off all electric cars, not just those made by his own EV manufacturer.
