As Musk Gained Power In Washington, His Popularity Has Fallen, An Ap-norc Poll Finds

Elon Musk spent years building cachet as a business titan and tech visionary, brushing aside critics and skeptics to become the richest person on the planet.

But as Musk gained power in Washington in recent months, his popularity has waned, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research .

Just 33 of U.S. adults have a favorable view of Musk, the chain-saw-wielding , late-night-posting , campaign-hat-wearing public face of President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize and overhaul the federal government. That share is down from 41 in December.

"It was a shame that he crashed and burned his reputation," said Ernest Pereira, 27, a Democrat who works as a lab technician in North Carolina. "He bought into his own hype."

The poll found that about two-thirds of adults believe Musk has held too much influence over the federal government during the past few months - although that influence may be coming to an end. The billionaire entrepreneur is expected to leave his administration job in the coming weeks.