Republicans Sour on Musk and Tesla Following Trump Breakup: 'He's Just a Rich Guy Who Pushes His Opinions'

Billionaire Elon Musk, once a close ally to the Trump administration, made headlines recently over his messy fallout with the president. As a result, he is seemingly growing unpopular within his once-loyal base: Republicans.

The new findings come from an AP-NORC poll that surveyed 1,158 adults between June 5-9, revealing that an increasing number of Republican voters view him unfavorably. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

According to the poll, 28% of Republicans viewed him favorably as of June, compared to 25% who said the same in April. Though the majority of Republicans still hold a somewhat positive view of the richest man in the world, his diminished popularity suggests his vocal opposition to Trump's signature spending and tax cut legislation may have cost him some enthusiasm within the party, The Associated Press explains.

"Some things have happened lately that have changed how I feel about him a little," said Alabama Republican Katye Long, whose feelings for Musk have cooled to "somewhat favorable."

"I liked what he was doing when he was helping. But now I feel like he's kind of hurting," said the 34-year-old automotive component factory employee and mother of three from Woodstock, Alabama. "I also don't feel like he matters that much. He's not actually part of the government. He's just a rich guy who pushes his opinions."

By comparison, as of early June, 57% of overall U.S. adults have a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion of Musk, while 34% have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the former DOGE leader. When it comes to Democrats, 85% have a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion of Musk, while only 10% have a favorable opinion of him.

Interestingly, Musk's previous involvement in the Trump administration continues to play negatively for one of his biggest companies, Tesla, which is still viewed dramatically unfavorably compared to its other car manufacturing companies.

The recent survey reveals that almost half, 49% of the U.S. population views Tesla very or somewhat unfavorably, while only 32% have a positive view. By comparison, 9% of Americans have a negative opinion of Toyota, 19% of Ford and 16% of General Motors.

The recent figures also come after a dramatic showdown between President Trump and Elon Musk, who once identified himself jokingly as "first buddy." The public feud started when Musk opposed the passing of the GOP's pillar "big, beautiful bill," calling it a "disgusting abomination.

Musk went on to claim that the federal government was concealing information about Trump's association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, though he later deleted the post and apologized for having gone "too far." The billionaire also claimed credit for the GOP's decisive win in the November elections.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk wrote. "Such ingratitude."