Billionaire Elon Musk, on Saturday, announced the launch of a new ‘centrist’ political party, the ‘America Party,’ which looks like both a political gamble and an escalation to his very public feud with US President Donald Trump. In a series of posts on his platform X, Musk has positioned the new party as a direct challenge to America’s historic two-party system.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party, and you shall have it!” Musk posted, citing a poll he ran on X. He added, “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
However, there is no evidence as of now of Musk formally registering the party with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Musk, who was born in South Africa and is ineligible to run for president, has not named a leader for the party yet.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of a dramatic public split with Trump, whom Musk had previously supported with over $275 million in campaign donations. Musk has even served in Trump’s administration as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), where he oversaw aggressive cuts to federal programs.
Their falling out began after Musk publicly criticised Trump’s massive tax and spending bill, which the latter refers to as ‘one big beautiful bill’, which was signed into law last week and is expected to add over $3 trillion to the national deficit. Musk, a prominent leader in the EV industry, has very publicly made his opinions known on the bill, which omitted subsidies for electric vehicles, a key interest for Tesla.
Trump has since then publicly dismissed Musk’s new party as ‘ridiculous’, calling Musk a “TRAIN WRECK” that has gone “off the rails.” Trump has also threatened to revisit federal contracts with Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and Starlink, both of which rely heavily on government deals. He further hinted at potential moves to strip Musk of subsidies or even reconsider his immigration status, despite Musk having been a US citizen since 2002.
Unbothered by the president’s remarks, Musk suggested that the America Party could start by focusing on a handful of highly contested House and Senate races in the 2026 midterms. He argued that winning just a few seats could give the party leverage in a closely divided Congress.
Meanwhile, a Reuters report has pointed to a slide of nearly 8% in Tesla’s shares on Monday, following Musk’s announcement. The company is now tasked with selling more than one million vehicles in the second half of the year to avoid a year-on-year decline in sales. If the stock slide continues, Tesla will lose over $80 billion in market value. Can Tesla afford this political venture, given how Trump’s initial threats to cut off subsidies to Musk’s businesses led to a $150 billion wipeout in Tesla’s market cap in a single trading session?
Despite Musk’s confidence, US political history has shown little success for third parties. So far, the America Party looks more like a personal vendetta than a serious political movement. There are no declared candidates and no clear policies beyond Musk’s usual focus on cutting government spending. No known lawmakers have shown any interest in defecting to his fledgling party.
In reality, there’s little evidence of a strong voter bloc eager to rally behind Musk. His millions of followers on X and strong financial resources don’t necessarily translate into political power. Without a coalition of committed candidates and grassroots supporters, the America Party risks becoming just another news headline, fizzling out entirely once Musk’s attention shifts elsewhere.
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