Elon Musk Conducts Poll on X About Ending Daylight Saving Time

Billionaire Elon Musk conducted a poll on his social media platform X, asking users how they would like to handle the potential end of daylight saving time (DST). In a post on Wednesday, Musk inquired, "If daylight savings [sic] time is canceled, do you prefer" an hour earlier or an hour later. By Thursday morning, over 1.2 million users had voted, with 58% choosing an hour later and nearly 42% opting for an hour earlier. This suggests that most respondents prefer permanent daylight saving time to staying on standard time year-round.

Indeed, Musk’s poll shed some light on a U.S. debate where lawmakers are considering a bill to not just end the "spring forward" for daylight savings and "fall back" to standard, but end it entirely every year.

The U.S. established standardized daylight saving time (DST) nationwide with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, making spring and fall clock changes mandatory in all states except Arizona and Hawaii, which chose to opt out.

Any move to make DST permanent or to remain on standard time year-round would require congressional approval; however, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 18 states have already passed laws that would allow for permanent DST if Congress permits such a change.

The proposed act to make daylight saving time permanent was passed by the Senate without dissent in March 2022. Unfortunately, the Sunshine Protection Act introduced by then-Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., died in the House. Several senators later indicated that had they known about the request for unanimous consent, they would have blocked it, in effect stopping the bill.

The Congressional Research Service has noted that other studies indicated statistically insignificant effects of DST on accident rates. One of the studies, however, stated that while the effects measured in shorter times showed conflicting evidence, in the long run, there is a possibility of decreased accidents because of DST. It also suggested that these long-term outcomes "might be affected by other variables rather than just light."

In 2008, the Department of Energy examined whether extending daylight saving time affected electricity consumption and arrived at the conclusion that perhaps a 0.03% reduction is possible. The Department went on to say that there is not enough evidence on the extent, if at all, that gas consumption and traffic volume may have been affected by daylight saving time extension.

Studies have been conducted that address the health consequences of changing the clocks twice a year. A 2013 study found evidence supporting the previous findings that transitions into and out of DST might be associated with short-term increases or decreases in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).

A year-round fixed time, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommended in 2020 for consideration by the United States. The Academy stated that "current evidence supports the adoption of year-round standard time, as it aligns better with human circadian biology and offers clear benefits for public health and safety."