Elon Musk’s approval rating is “falling through the floor” among Democrats, according to CNN‘s chief data analyst Harry Enten.
Enten said on Monday’s CNN News Central that Musk’s net favorable rating has dropped from +24 to -19 overall from 2017 to 2025, and that his change in favorability rating among Democrats has been even more significant in that period.
Newsweek has contacted Musk for comment via an email to Tesla.
Why It Matters
The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla owner is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been tasked by Republican President Donald Trump with slashing federal spending and shrinking the federal workforce.
The “special government employee” has spearheaded mass layoffs and terminations of federal contracts, as well as the dismantling of federal agencies, including the U.S. Agency of International Development. Musk’s actions have sparked a backlash, with demonstrators gathering outside Tesla showrooms for nonviolent protests. Meanwhile, Tesla vehicles and property have been vandalized and destroyed across the country.
What To Know
Musk “used to be beloved by Democrats,” Enten said, noting that his favorability rating among the group was +35 in 2017.
But now, Musk’s favorability rating among Democrats is -91. “That is a movement of over 120 points in the negative direction, falling through the floor,” he said.
Enten noted that Musk’s standing has also dropped among independents, from +17 to -17.
But he said Musk has improved with Republicans, going from -18 in 2017 to +51 in 2025.
“But that doesn’t at all make up for the gap that the Democrats have completely fallen off the rails for Elon Musk.”
Enten said the drop in Demcorats’ perception of Musk could be seen in terms of new registrations for Tesla vehicles in the United States.
He said new registrations were down five percent in 2024, and were down 11 percent in January this year.
“This has occurred as other EV carmakers have seen their registrations go up,” Enten said. “And it has also occurred as Tesla registrations and the people buying Teslas worldwide has also dropped. It’s not just a U.S. phenomenon.”
He went on to note that Democrats make up a larger share of electric vehicle owners in the U.S., accounting for 38 percent, while Republicans account for only 20 percent.
A Pew Research Center survey last year found 45 percent of those who are Democrat or lean Democrat were somewhat or very likely to purchase an electric vehicle, while only 13 percent of Republicans or those who lean Republican said the same.
“When you’re falling with Democrats, falling with independents, you’re giving up a large share of the market,” he said. “And that is a big reason why Tesla is struggling and Elon Musk is certainly at least driving a little bit of that.”
Recent Fox News polling found just 40 percent of voters approved of the job Musk is doing with DOGE, while 58 percent disapprove.
And a CNN/SSRS poll found 53 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of Musk, while 35 percent view him positively.
What People Are Saying
CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten said: “I have rarely if ever seen any change of perception as dramatic as this one. I mean, Elon Musk’s net favorable rating, it’s dropped from +24 to -19 overall from 2017 to 2025. And look at these—look at, among Democrats. He used to be beloved by Democrats at +35. Look where it is now, -91 points on the net favorable rating. That is a movement of over 120 points in the negative direction, falling through the floor.”
Elon Musk wrote on X, in response to a post about the Democratic Party’s low approval rating: “The Democratic Party is dying.”
President Donald Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Monday: “Elon, I want to thank you. I know you’ve been through a lot with this horrible situation that happens … He’s a patriot more than anything else. He’s never, think of it, he has never asked me for a thing.”
Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, said he was getting rid of his Tesla in a video posted on X on March 14: “Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country. Talking about slashing Social Security, cutting health care benefits for poor people, for seniors. It’s one bad thing after the next.”
What’s Next
Musk’s approval rating is likely to continue fluctuating, especially among Democrats, as he continues work with DOGE.
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