Elon Musk told The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes last week that the public hates the media far more than it hates him.
“I think a lot more people hate you and the media more than you realize,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO fired back during the interview after Beddoes said people loathed him for trying to influence European politics.
Musk rejected her criticism outright, arguing that distrust of journalists exceeds any opposition directed at him. “The shoe is on the other foot. They hate you. They hate you far more than they hate me,” he said. “I think you’re the problem. The media.”
He asked whether she recognized the industry’s standing with the public: “Do you realize the media is despised? Do you realize that journalists, the view of journalists is like, it’s like a favorable view of journalists is like 15%?”
Beddoes had confronted Musk over his support for right-wing European political parties, pointing to his wealth, ownership of X, and large following as giving him unusual power to shape politics abroad.
“Why should you be able to shape European politics? You don’t even live there,” she said. “But do you see why this makes people think that this man who has all this power, he’s the world’s richest man, he thinks he has a right to influence our politics? It’s why people loathe you. I mean, some people do loathe you.”
Musk dismissed the claim by citing his roughly 250 million followers on X as proof he has more supporters than detractors. “Maybe some people do loathe me, and that’s probably true. I don’t care,” he replied. “But the fact that, as you pointed out, a quarter billion people follow me is that I think a lot more people actually like me than don’t.”
Beddoes acknowledged low trust in American journalism but blamed part of the problem on polarization fueled by social media, including content Musk promotes on X. “I think in part there have been mistakes by journalists and journalism. I totally acknowledge that,” she said. “But I also think that the kind of polarized environment, particularly on social media, fostered by the kinds of things you are pushing on X, actually helps make this worse.”
Musk rejected that explanation and maintained that public disdain for the press remains greater than any dislike of him.
A 2025 Gallup poll underscored the media’s standing, finding that only 28% of Americans had a great deal or fair amount of trust in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly—a record low.