The majority of Brits do not think Elon Musk has helped the UK with his online interventions, according to a new poll.
The X CEO and richest man in the world has been criticising the Labour government consistently since they won the general election in July.
In the last month, he has focused on the grooming gangs scandal, called the safeguarding minister Jess Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” who should be jailed and slammed Keir Starmer’s record as director of public prosecutions.
Historic child abuse has subsequently moved up the political agenda.
Tory MPs called for another public inquiry into the issue on Wednesday – a move the PM described as “jumping on the bandwagon” – although this amendment was voted down by the rest of the Commons.
And, according to pollsters at Opinium, not many Brits appreciate Musk’s comments on British politics.
More than half (53%) of respondents said they thought his impact was negative, while just 12% said they thought it was positive.
When it comes to Musk’s comments about grooming gangs, 47% said he was being “unhelpful” while 26% thought it were helpful.
Head of political and social research at Opinium Adam Drummond said that the “lack of enthusiasm about a foreign billionaire involving himself in British politics” is “one area of agreement” in the UK right now.
Musk, born in South Africa and now one of Donald Trump’s informal advisors, was rumoured to be thinking about donating $100m to Reform UK late last year.
He has since called for leader Nigel Farage to step aside, saying he is not up to the job, although the Clacton MP has insisted they can repair that relationship.
Musk has also called Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey a “snivelling cretin” and described Starmer as “evil” in recent days.
Opinium’s poll, published on Saturday, comes as science, innovation and technology secretary Peter Kyle shot down claims the Home Office is monitoring Musk’s posts for extremism.
He told Sky News on Sunday: “I’m not aware of it. My department does not monitor individuals but it does monitor the internet itself for trends in misinformation and trends in harmful content.
“That is not focused on individuals. That is not the work that we do. But we do try to monitor trends on the internet and adjust accordingly.”