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Elon Musk’s companies Tesla and SpaceX are quickly losing their previously good reputations among Americans following the CEO’s dramatic shift into right-wing political activism.
Tesla fell to No. 95 this year in the Axios Harris Poll 100, tumbling from No. 8 out of 100 in 2021. SpaceX faced a similar fate. The space technology company placed No. 5 in 2021, but this year saw itself at No. 86.
The collaborative survey between news service Axios and global market research and consulting firm The Harris Poll has been conducted since 2019 to gauge the reputations of the most visible brands in the United States. The consulting firm calls its survey a ”trusted” ranking of the “reputation of the companies most on the minds of Americans.”
In this year’s polling, Tesla scored poorly in trust, culture and ethics, while SpaceX saw low scores for citizenship and ethics.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
The Axios Harris Poll 100 asked 6,231 adults which two companies stand out to them as having the best reputation today, and which two have the worst, in order to determine a list of the “most visible” companies. Approximately 16,500 adults were then asked contextual questions on topics related to brands and politics. Trader Joe’s ranked No. 1 overall in this year’s polling.
The poll scored Tesla last in “character,” an area that determines whether the company shares the survey respondents’ values, supports good causes, maintains high ethical standards and is a good company to work for.
This survey is not the first indicator that Tesla’s reputation was facing a public shift since Musk took his place at the helm of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative tasked with making aggressive federal cuts.
Musk’s association with right-wing politicians and the Trump administration sparked a nationwide protest movement against Tesla, with participants urging shareholders to drop their stock in the company and car owners to rid themselves of Tesla-brand electric vehicles.
Tesla released its first-quarter financial results last month amid the protest and reported that the company’s total revenue fell 9.4% from the previous year, with profits also falling 71%. In light of Tesla’s dismal first-quarter results, Musk told investors during an earnings call that he would be spending less time running DOGE.
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Another of Musk’s companies, X, formerly known as Twitter, placed relatively low even before he took over in 2022. This year, however, the poll placed the social media company at No. 98, with low scores in character, trust, culture and ethics. The only two companies to rank lower than X were the Trump Organization, at No. 99, and Spirit Airlines coming in dead last.
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