Musk’s net favorability fell 24 points to -28 in Gallup’s latest poll, following a fallout with Trump over tax legislation and a withdrawn NASA nomination.
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly defended Elon Musk after a Gallup poll revealed that the Tesla CEO had the most negative image among 14 prominent public figures in the United States.
“I don’t know [if] that poll’s accurate. I think he’s a good person. I think he had a bad moment, really bad moment. But he’s a good person. I believe that,” Trump said in response to a question about the survey, aired on Fox News.
Gallup’s July 7–21 poll found that Musk’s net favorability declined from -4 in January to -28 in July, with 33% of Americans viewing him favorably and 61% unfavorably, marking a 24-point drop.
The same survey showed positive net ratings for Pope Leo XIV, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Senator Bernie Sanders, while other figures, including Joe Biden, J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, and Trump himself, had negative net scores.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration formally ended a policy backed by Musk, which required federal employees to submit weekly summaries of their workplace accomplishments, Reuters reported.
The initiative, known as the “five things” email, was launched in February during Musk’s tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a memo, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said the policy would no longer be managed or used internally.
Musk stepped down from his leadership role in DOGE in May. At the time, Trump hosted a farewell event at the White House and said, “Elon is really not leaving.”
However, in June, Trump had expressed confusion and frustration over Musk’s public criticism of his tax and spending bill, which Musk described as a “disgusting abomination.”
Musk also vowed to oppose any Republican lawmaker who supported the bill. Trump later said he was “very disappointed” in Musk and posted on Truth Social that “the easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon’s government subsidies and contracts.”
Trump also withdrew the nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. The move was viewed within the administration as a direct snub to Musk. Earlier, the White House had already begun reducing Musk’s influence over staffing and budget decisions.
A White House statement called the episode “an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.”
Musk had spent over $300 million backing Trump’s 2024 campaign and Republicans. During his time in government, he oversaw efforts to slash the federal workforce and implement internal reforms, including the “five things” reporting program. The initiative had caused confusion among government employees and sparked tensions with department leaders.
The friction between Musk and Trump also dented Tesla’s stock, which has fallen over 20% this year, as investors feared regulatory repercussions on the billionaire entrepreneur’s businesses. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits, however, has turned ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ six months ago.
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