How do you not understand the hate? He's perfect for it, and getting better every day. He's cocky, quick to respond, and occasionally an asshole. He's a pseudo celebrity - everyone knows about him so discussing him appeals to a wide audience. He dates and associates with other famous people - big gossip mills can run solely on that. There's already dedicated crowds of people who like and dislike him fanatically - lefties love to hate him because he's rich, white, and male, and righties love to because he sucks up government money and uses it on ''bogus'' clean energy initiatives. It doesn't even matter what your angle is, I know an engineer who simply thinks combustion engines are superior and that Musk is an idiot for ever trying to make electric cars 'premium'. That has nothing to do with politics or image but I have seen it start Musk-hating trains.
The mix of controversy, zeitgeist, everything. He's literally the perfect person to rag on for Internet points. If he had a social IQ greater than 0 and actually cared about improving his public image he would restrict his tweeting severely and try to appear more aloof.
I use to really like Elon, not just his work but also his personality. He used to come off as quiet, even a little strange. His recent personal and professional failings have become so public, and he is handling them so poorly - it's tarnishing him.