Elon Musk Will Make Twitter Better, Most Believe

Now that Twitter has agreed to billionaire Elon Musk’s buyout offer, most Americans think the social media platform will be better.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 62% of American Adults believe Musk’s purchase will make Twitter better. Just 13% think Musk’s purchase will make Twitter worse, while 12% think Musk’s ownership will not make much difference. Another 13% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Sixty-one percent (61%) of those surveyed use Twitter at least several times a week, including 30% who use the social media site every day or nearly every day. Twenty-five percent (25%) use Twitter once a week or less, while 10% rarely or never use Twitter.

Twitter announced Monday that it had accepted Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy the company. Forty-three percent (43%) of those surveyed say they’re more likely to use Twitter now that Musk owns it, while 19% say they are less likely to use Twitter. Twenty-one percent (21%) say Musk’s ownership will not make much difference in how often they use Twitter. Another 17% are not sure.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. American Adults was conducted on April 26-27, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Earlier this month, after Musk first made his offer to buy Twitter, opinions were divided as to whether a buyout by Musk would be good or bad for the company. Now that Twitter has accepted Musk’s offer, however, those divisions have largely disappeared.

Majorities of every political category – 70% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats and 61% of those unaffiliated with either major party – believe Musk’s purchase will make Twitter better. Similarly, majorities of every racial category – 64% of whites, 51% of blacks and 63% of other minorities – think Twitter will be better under Musk’s ownership.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of Republicans, 30% of Democrats and 40% of the unaffiliated say they’re more likely to use Twitter now that Musk owns it. Thirty-one percent (31%) of Democrats, 11% of Republicans and 15% of the unaffiliate are less  likely to use Twitter now that Musk owns it.

Women are more frequent Twitter users than men, and women under 40 are most likely to say they use the site every day or nearly every day. Women (66%) are more likely than men (58%) to think Musk’s buyout will make Twitter better, but more men (48%) than women (37%) say they are more likely to use Twitter now that Musk owns the company.

Americans under 40 are less likely than their elders to think Musk’s ownership will make Twitter better. 

More private sector workers (49%) than government employees (37%) say they are more likely to use Twitter now that Musk owns it.

While 71% of Americans with annual incomes between $30,000 and $50,000 think Musk will make Twitter better, only 46% of those with annual incomes of $200,000 or more agree.

Among Americans who use Twitter every day or nearly every day, 66% think Musk’s ownership will make Twitter better. Those who use the site once a week or less are most likely to say they will use Twitter more frequently now that Musk has bought it.

Although most Americans aren’t paying much attention to the defamation trial between actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard, those who do think Depp is the one telling the truth.

Inflation is hitting hard at the grocery store, as more Americans say rising food prices have caused them to change the way they eat.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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