A study by the Pew Research Center found that Americans have more negative than positive views of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It seems that the Meta CEO's transformation has not made him any more appealing to people, nor has Musk's active involvement in the US government.
A study by the Pew Research Center found that Americans have more negative than positive views of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It seems that the Meta CEO's transformation has not made him any more appealing to people, nor has Musk's active involvement in the US government.
About 54% of American adults say they have a negative view of Musk. The number is even higher for Zuckerberg — 67%, TechCrunch reports .
With the start of President Trump’s second term, the two tech executives have come under increased scrutiny: both sat next to the president at his inauguration and donated to his inaugural fund. While Zuckerberg has changed Meta’s long-standing content moderation policies , limiting fact-checking and combating hate speech, Musk has continued to play a key role in Trump’s camp .
During the first month of Trump’s presidency, Musk has been directly involved in the operations of the US government, using his political connections to gut government agencies like USAID , which provides humanitarian aid around the world. Meanwhile, Musk’s DOGE is exaggerating the impact of billions of dollars in budget cuts.
Given Musk's Trump affiliation, it follows that by party line, 85% of respondents who are Democrats or lean toward Democrats have a negative view of the Tesla CEO. At the same time, 73% of respondents who are Republicans or those who support Republicans have a favorable view of Musk.
In contrast, Facebook founder Zuckerberg is disliked more, although he is more irked by the far-left. While 60% of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents have a negative view of Zuckerberg, 76% of their Democratic counterparts share this sentiment.
The Pew study surveyed 5,086 randomly selected American adults between January 27, 2025, and February 2, 2025. “So these responses reflect people’s current opinions,” TechCrunch noted.
