Is support from Musk winning Trump voters? Survey says no

(NewsNation) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk's support of former President Trump's campaign might be losing more voters than it's gaining, according to a new poll.

A Yahoo Finance survey of its readers, released Friday, found that the Tesla CEO might actually be hurting the GOP nominee's bid for the White House.

With all respondents considered, 25 percent said Musk's endorsement makes them for likely to vote for Trump. In contrast, 28 percent said it could have the opposite effect, according to the survey.

Among undecided voters, about 21 percent said support from the billionaire owner of social platform X, makes them more likely to cast a ballot for Trump, while 28 percent it would make that less likely.

"This is not a randomized survey, and the Yahoo Finance audience tends to be wealthier, more educated, and older than the electorate overall," senior columnist Rick Newman wrote of the survey.

"But our survey is a large and useful focus group of investors — including some Tesla shareholders — who follow the mercurial Musk closer than others and are likely familiar with his pathbreaking roles at Tesla and other companies, including SpaceX and the social media app X," he added.

Musk has drawn ire for his political endeavors and management of the social platform. Far-right accounts and misinformation on the website led X to be temporarily banned in Brazil due to free speech clashes with the country's highest court.

Recent reporting also alleges Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, confirmed to The Associated Press that Musk and Putin have had contact through calls. The person didn’t provide additional details about the frequency of the calls, when they occurred or their content.

Musk, one of the world’s richest men, has emerged as a leading voice on the American right. He’s poured millions of dollars into Trump’s presidential bid and turned the platform once known as Twitter into a site popular with Trump supporters, as well as conspiracy theorists, extremists and Russian propagandists.

The Associated Press contributed.