Content

The tech world has come a long way from the spectacled men in polo shirts of the '90s and hoodie-wearing, "disruptive" execs of the early aughts. Every day, new players join the pantheon of near-ubiquitous names in Big Tech. Now, OpenAI has joined Amazon, Google, and Microsoft as a household name.

At Howdy.com — a company dedicated to staffing tech workers for businesses of all sizes — we want to know how the US views the industry.

We surveyed over 1,000 Americans nationwide to hear their opinions on major tech CEOs and companies, as well as how they feel about Big Tech’s involvement with the government in 2025.

1. Over 4 in 5 Americans worry about corporate involvement in the U.S. government

As Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) audit the U.S. government’s spending priorities, many Americans are concerned. 83% say they’re worried about corporate entities involved in government function, and 2 in 3 think tech CEOs have "a lot" of influence in the government. A similar amount- 64% wants to see less involvement of tech CEOs than what’s currently happening.

[@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "customImage", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop

Trust is a big issue. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans don’t trust any Big Tech CEOs, and 85% think tech executives should face personal liability for their companies’ actions. The majority of Americans (4 in 5) would also like to see tech companies doing more to combat misinformation. About 1 in 5 survey respondents named Meta specifically as a company that should face more government regulation. Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) agree tech companies have too much control over their personal data.

Who will be most influential over the next five years? Among CEOs, the clear consensus was around Musk, with 75% of consumers choosing him as the most influential. Among companies, 30% say Amazon will have the biggest impact on the U.S. economy, followed by OpenAI, Google, and Tesla.

2. What do Americans think about tech CEOs?
[@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "customImage", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop

We polled Americans on their opinions of major tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, providing options ranging from "very positive" to "very negative". We also asked Americans to rank CEOs in order of most and least trustworthy.

Of all CEOs, Americans have the lowest opinion of Zuckerberg. Musk is easily considered the most suspect, with 42% of respondents choosing him as the least trustworthy. Meanwhile, 25% of survey respondents voted for Bill Gates as the most trustworthy CEO.

Nearly half (48%) of Americans did not know Google CEO Sundar Pichai. PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel is similarly unknown by 40% of the population. Over 1 in 3 also didn’t recognize Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

Here are the CEOs Americans have a "very negative" opinion of:

1. Elon Musk (36%)
2. Mark Zuckerberg (31%)
3. Jeff Bezos (21%)
4. Bill Gates (16%)
5. Peter Thiel (15%)
6. Sam Altman (13%)
7. Tim Cook (7%)
8. Sundar Pichai (6%)

Here are the CEOs Americans have a "very positve" opinion of:

1. Elon Musk (12%)
2. Bill Gates (10%)
3. Mark Zuckerberg (6%)
4. Tim Cook (5%)
5. Jeff Bezos (4%)
6. Sundar Pichai (3%)
7. Sam Altman (3%)
8. Peter Thiel (2%)
3. American opinion of Big Tech companies

We also asked Americans about their opinions of major players in the tech scene, from household names like Microsoft and Amazon to newcomers like OpenAI.

[@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "customImage", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop

Most-loved tech companies

These are the companies that received the greatest share of "positive" and/or "very positive" opinion votes:

1. Paypal (63%)
2. Google (60%)
3. Microsoft (57%)
4. Amazon (55%)
5. Apple (54%)
6. OpenAI (46%)
7. Tesla (36%)
8. Meta (33%)
9. X/Twitter (32%)

Most hated tech companies

These are the companies that received the greatest share of "negative" or "very negative" opinion votes:

1. X/Twitter (49%)
2. Meta (43%)
3. Tesla (44%)
4. Amazon (23%)
5. OpenAI (22%)
6. Apple (20%)
7. Google (18%)
8. Microsoft (14%)
9. Paypal (11%)

Elon Musk is both the subject of adulation and scorn among the American people. Musk's companies are among the least-liked big tech companies in the nation.

With so much user data and public use, tech companies have a long way to go to regain the trust of the American people. Our two cents? Businesses should start by revising how they handle private data and misinformation. As more companies hop on the AI wagon to revolutionize industries from medtech to logistics, innovating not just for shareholders but for the public will remain crucial to stay in the public's good graces.

4. Methodology & fair use

In February 2025, we surveyed 1,0001 Americans, asking their opinions on tech CEOs and companies as well as Big Tech’s involvement in the U.S. government. 50% were men, 49% women, and 1% were either nonbinary or chose not to disclose. Ages ranged from 18-75 with an average age of 41.

For media inquiries, please contact media@digitalthirdcoast.net

Fair Use

When using this data and research, please attribute by linking to this study and citing Howdy.com.