Update: Tesla billionaire, Elon Musk said he will be stepping back into politics by creating the “America Party”, which he claims will give Americans their freedom back.
This came just a day after Musk published a poll on his social media platform, X, asking his followers if they think he should create the America Party. Around 65% of people voted ‘Yes’ in the poll.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he said in a post the next day.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.”
“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
It is still unclear where the party would be registered.
In a post accompanying the poll, Musk said the party would just focus on “2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts.
“Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people,” he said.
Musk was the largest donor during the 2024 presidential campaign, giving more than US$280 million throughout the cycle. The majority of the funds were given to President Donald Trump’s campaign and even spearheaded Trump’s efforts to slash the federal government through DOGE.
Musk stepped back from his DOGE role in May once his special government employee term ended.
After he left, a feud between him and the president emerged with the two posting back and forth on their respective social media platforms, X and Truth Social.
A key point of contention was Trump’s “big, beautiful”, which Musk has been openly opposed to and even took to X to criticise once it passed in the House of Representatives.
“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” he said on X.
“Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”
Trump said the idea to start a new party was “ridiculous” when asked about it before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, as he returned to Washington DC upon visiting his nearby golf club.
"We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion,” he said.
"Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous."
He doubled down on these beliefs in a post to Truth Social.
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them,” he posted.
The political party announcement also comes as Tesla shares continue to drop, despite Musk saying it would become a major focus of his after leaving the White House.
