Where do Republicans stand on Elon Musk?

The dust has mostly settled between the brief but highly public conflict between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.

The two men briefly feuded over the Trump-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” after Musk launched a tirade of posts on his X account criticizing the bill and its spending.

But shortly after, both parties appeared to move on from the feud, with Musk returning to his duties as Tesla and SpaceX CEO and Trump returning his attention to other presidential duties.

With the dust settling, here are five charts on how the feud affected where Republicans stand on Elon Musk.

1. Bent but not broken. The feud appears to have damaged, but not fundamentally shaken Republicans’ image of Musk. The majority of Republican base still views him favorably, just with less enthusiasm than before.
2. Still a key Republican figure. Musk remains a figure seen highly favorably among the Republican base – just not as favorably as more central figures, like Trump and Vice President JD Vance. But again, the feud was hardly a disqualifier for Musk’s future in the Republican Party.
3. Some Republicans see where Musk was coming from. Musk’s biggest qualm during the feud was over the amount of spending of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Republicans generally support this bill and many of its provisions but nearly half say the bill’s potential to increase the national debt is “unacceptable.”
4. Republicans approve of Musk’s time in the White House. Another reason Musk remains a popular figure among Republicans: his stint in the White House, though polarizing among the broader public, is highly popular among Republicans. Downsizing the government is something Republicans wanted. For Republicans, Musk has satiated that desire.
5. Overall, the needle hasn’t really budged. Republicans’ perceptions of Musk may have cooled. But remarkably, since February 2024, Musk’s overall favorability rating with the public has hardly changed, even after his reputation become increasingly polarized along partisan lines. For Musk, this appears to be just another bump in the road.

Between the protests in Los Angeles and escalating tensions in the Middle East, the news cycle moved on from the Musk-Trump beef quickly.

But now that the dust has settled, we can make out how the Musk-Trump beef may play out in GOP politics going forward.

No Republican figure has gone toe-to-toe with Trump and come out on top and Musk does not appear to be an exception. But he still remains a well-liked figure among Republicans, most of whom view his job in the White House favorably. Though Republican attitudes towards Musk have softened slightly, Musk is still in a position where he can remain a key figure in Republican politics for the foreseeable future.