The bad news just keeps coming for Elon Musk, with the controversial head of Twitter and Tesla being voted the most overrated CEO in the US.
There’s no denying that Musk is a divisive executive at this point in history. His acquisition of Twitter alone has made him a notable public figure, soliciting ire and praise alike from its millions of users.
But how do his peers feel? A new survey found that Musk is not exactly revered when it comes to other CEOs.
Survey: Musk Most Overrated CEO
According to a new survey from Fortune, Elon Musk is the most overrated CEO in the US. The survey asked hundreds of CEOs across the country which of their fellow decision makers were underappreciated and, of course, which ones were unnecessarily popular.
As for why Musk was voted most overrated by other CEOs, there are plenty of instances to choose from, but Fortune was happy to speculate on the reason the head of Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX bore the brunt of this voting.
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“Musk’s aggressive goals, like his otherworldly ambitions for a Mars civilization and self-driving cars within the decade, combined with his dislike for public transit could explain why.” – Sunny Nagpaul, editorial fellow at Fortune
This isn’t Musk’s first time at the top of the “most overrated CEO” list either. In fact, Musk was voted the most overrated CEO in the US last year as well, setting up a potential dynasty for Musk over the next few years.
Elon Musk’s Award-Winning Year
Overrated might seem like a harsh word to describe Elon Musk in 2023, but the reality is that the CEO definitely earned his title last year. Here are some of the less-than-ideal news stories about Musk over the last year that may have netted him the title:
- He sued the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for criticizing Twitter.
- He put a big X on the top of Twitter headquarters and got charged for it.
- He gutted parental leave at Twitter for its employees.
- He refused to pay rent at Twitter headquarters.
All that to say, Elon Musk is definitely worthy of the overrated title when it comes to his role as CEO, and the new year likely won’t see much of a change in his antics.
Other CEOs on the List
While he may be the most notable business owners on the list, Elon Musk is not alone in being considered overrated by his fellow CEOs.
While Musk did receive an impressive 399 votes for being the most overrated CEO in the US, Bog Iger, the CEO of Disney, received a respectable 302 votes, likely due to the madness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last few years.
The survey didn’t just gauge which CEOs are overrated either. Business owners were asked to also vote on the most underrated CEOs in the US, an honor which fell to Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, who has helped catapult the Seattle-based tech giant into the most valuable company in the world.
