Elon Musk Voted "Most Overrated CEO" by His Colleagues

Burn Rate

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has topped Fortune's list of "most overrated CEOs" — for the second year running.

The publication's survey is sent out to almost 400 "executives, businesses, directors and industry analysts to measure big businesses’ reputations, as told by their rivals and friends."

In an additional ranking, Musk took the crown for being the most overrated executive in 2023, yet another sign that the mercurial CEO's reputation has tanked, especially following his disastrous acquisition of X-formerly-Twitter.

Track Record

Musk has a long and extremely well-documented track record of overpromising and underdelivering. For instance, Tesla cars still can't drive themselves, despite him promising verbatim that such a thing will be possible "next year" for ten years now.

Tesla has also tanked under his leadership in 2023, with stocks plunging 25 percent so far this year, wiping out $80 billion in market value. The company disappointed investors during a recent earnings call, warning of slowing growth in sales and fierce competition, especially in China.

Despite some considerable headway with SpaceX, Musk's plans for a city on Mars to make humanity interplanetary have also steadily receded.

Then there's Musk's recent obsession with far-right conspiracy theories and deeply racist beliefs, turning his recently acquired social media platform into a hate-fueled echo chamber. That kind of rhetoric has sent advertisers running for the hills, leaving the company in financial shambles.

In short, it's not surprising to see Musk top the list of most overrated CEOs.

And even Musk himself tends to agree. After an X user asked Musk's AI company's "Grok" chatbot to "roast Elon Musk with one word," the bot replied with "overrated."

"Accurate," Musk replied at the time.

More on Musk: Wife Sues SpaceX After Rocket Test Leaves Husband in Coma