Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has seen his popularity nosedive in recent weeks amid efforts to ‘streamline’ the US government. A recent poll indicates that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has acquired a minus 10 favorability rating within a matter of weeks amid growing criticism of his DOGE initiatives. Critics have launched nationwide protests against Musk and his team as well as numerous lawsuits that claim DOGE acted without legal authority and violated privacy laws.
A new poll conducted by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and HarrisX found that the Tesla and SpaceX chief has seen his favorability drop 10 points from February to March. Data collated in March indicate that more than two out of three voters still support the cutting of $1 trillion in expenses but are now pessimistic about the ability of Musk and DOGE to hit this goal.
The update also comes two weeks after a national NBC News poll indicated that a growing number of US voters are beginning to think that DOGE was ‘a bad idea’. While the US remains somewhat open to tackling inefficiencies in the government, people in the country have become increasingly concerned about Musk and his DOGE initiatives.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief was appointed as a ‘special government employee’ by the White House as Donald Trump took over as US President. His work was capped at 130 days — signaling a likely end to DOGE operation by the end of May. Musk also indicated during an interview with Fox News last week that his team was likely to finish “ most of the work” within that timeframe.
DOGE estimates that it has saved US taxpayers $115 billion as of March 24 through various initiatives including workforce reductions, asset sales and contract cancellations. The numbers published on its official website have however undergone several revisions over the past few weeks and remain unverifiable. Reports citing budget experts claim that Musk cannot reach his target without touching entitlement programs like Social Security — which Trump has vowed not to cut. The DOGE chief also went a step further during an interview last week — insisting that legal recipients of the scheme would soon receive ‘more money’.