logo
Sam Altman says he's ‘politically homeless' as Elon Musk launches new party

Sam Altman says he's ‘politically homeless' as Elon Musk launches new party

In a Fourth of July post that quickly drew millions of views and sparked widespread debate, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared himself ' politically homeless,' citing disillusionment with the Democratic Party and voicing strong support for what he called 'techno-capitalism.'
The post coincided with another headline-grabbing announcement from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who used the holiday to revive his plan for a third political party — dubbed the 'America Party.'
Altman's post on X, the platform owned by Musk, opened as a patriotic tribute.
'I'm not big on identities, but I am extremely proud to be American,' he wrote. 'This is true every day, but especially today — I firmly believe this is the greatest country ever on Earth.'
But the message quickly turned political. Altman criticized the government's role in economic life and advocated for a system that supports both innovation and broad-based wealth distribution.
'We should encourage people to make tons of money and then also find ways to widely distribute wealth and share the compounding magic of capitalism,' he wrote. 'You cannot raise the floor and not also raise the ceiling for very long.'
The 40-year-old entrepreneur said the Democratic Party, with which he once identified, no longer reflects these values.
'The Democratic party seemed reasonably aligned with it when I was 20, losing the plot when I was 30, and completely to have moved somewhere else at this point,' he said. 'So now I am politically homeless.'
His remarks came days after New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that billionaires should not exist — a sentiment Altman appeared to push back on.
'I'd rather hear from candidates about how they are going to make everyone have the stuff billionaires have instead of how they are going to eliminate billionaires,' Altman said.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk used the holiday to announce the launch of the 'America Party,' a new political group he says will challenge what he called the 'uniparty' system.
'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,' Musk posted Saturday on X.
The move followed Musk's dramatic break with President Donald Trump over the administration's sweeping tax and spending bill — dubbed the Big Beautiful Bill.
Musk had warned he would form a new party if the legislation passed, and, after it did, he vowed to pour money into congressional races with the goal of ousting 'every member of Congress that voted for it.'
Trump responded Sunday night on Truth Social, accusing Musk of going 'off the rails' and turning into a 'train wreck.' He also claimed Musk's opposition was driven by anger over the bill's elimination of electric vehicle tax credits — a move that could hurt Tesla.
Musk's announcement sent Tesla's stock tumbling nearly 7% on Monday, as investors reacted nervously to his deeper plunge into politics.
Musk said the America Party may focus on flipping a handful of House and Senate seats in 2026.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

California farmworker who fell from greenhouse roof during chaotic ICE raid dies
California farmworker who fell from greenhouse roof during chaotic ICE raid dies

San Francisco Chronicle​

timean hour ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

California farmworker who fell from greenhouse roof during chaotic ICE raid dies

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof during a chaotic ICE raid this week at a California cannabis facility died Saturday of his injuries. Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die in one of the Trump administration's anti-immigration operations. Yesenia Duran, Alanis' niece, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. Duran has posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family's only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to a wife and daughter in Mexico. The United Food Workers said Alanis worked at the farm for 10 years. 'These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,' the union said recently in a statement on the social platform X. The UFW reported Alanis' death prematurely late Friday, but the Ventura County Medical Center later issued a statement authorized by the family saying he was still on life support. The Department of Homeland Security said it executed criminal search warrants Thursday at Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria. Garcia called family to say he was hiding and possibly was fleeing agents before he fell about 30 feet (9 meters) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources. Agents arrested some 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, DHS said in a statement. Alanis was not among them, the agency said. 'This man was not in and has not been in CBP or ICE custody,' DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 'Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.' Four U.S. citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly 'assaulting or resisting officers,' according to DHS, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents. During the raid crowds of people gathered outside the facility in Camarillo to seek information about their relatives and protest immigration enforcement. Authorities clad in military-style helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators, and people ultimately retreated amid acrid green and white billowing smoke. Glass House, a licensed California cannabis grower, said in a statement that immigration agents had valid warrants. The company said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation. The farm also grows tomatoes and cucumbers. 'Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,' it said.

Chinese automaker increases stakes in competition against Tesla with mega-cheap model: 'To become a serious player in the mass-market EV segment'
Chinese automaker increases stakes in competition against Tesla with mega-cheap model: 'To become a serious player in the mass-market EV segment'

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Chinese automaker increases stakes in competition against Tesla with mega-cheap model: 'To become a serious player in the mass-market EV segment'

After Tesla's new Model Y had consumers shocked by its lowered price, Chinese technology company Xiaomi dropped even lower prices on its new SUV. According to Reuters, Xiaomi "priced its new electric YU7 SUV from 253,500 yuan ($35,364), almost 4% below Tesla's Model Y." The details surrounding the new YU7 are already grabbing EV lovers' attention. In one review of the SUV, the comparison of the YU7 and the 2025 Ferrari Purosangue was highlighted. With the Purosangue starting at just under $430,000, the YU7's affordability is even more impressive and appealing. Switching to an EV is a great move for those looking to reduce their tailpipe emissions and put an end to the relentless fluid changes of gas-powered cars. With the electric vehicle market continuing to grow, new models are constantly launching, so your options are broad. Plus, the used EV market also continues to grow. The Tesla Model Y has been doing well in China recently, but Xiaomi has high hopes for the future of the YU7 SUV. "Xiaomi's CEO and founder Lei Jun has said he wants the YU7 to challenge the Model Y, and analysts say it has the potential to succeed," Reuters reported. Rosalie Chen, a senior analyst at Third Bridge, a global research organization, said, "The YU7 will serve as an early test of whether Xiaomi can broaden its appeal beyond early adopters and tech enthusiasts to become a serious player in the mass-market EV segment," as quoted by Reuters. The YU7 SUV by Xiaomi is officially being sold in China now, with plans to bring the vehicle to the global market by 2027. Would you buy a $10K car from China? Definitely Maybe No way I don't need a new car Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Affordable, luxury-looking electric vehicles are just the beginning of ways to save while owning an EV. Installing solar panels is another great way to save big while driving electric, as fueling with solar energy is cheaper than using public charging stations or relying on the grid. With EnergySage, it's easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers and save up to $10,000 on solar installations. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

xAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon's bot in its cars
xAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon's bot in its cars

The Verge

time2 hours ago

  • The Verge

xAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon's bot in its cars

Several days after temporarily shutting down the Grok AI bot that was producing antisemitic posts and praising Hitler in response to user prompts, Elon Musk's AI company tried to explain why that happened. In a series of posts on X, it said that '...we discovered the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok.' On the same day, Tesla announced a new 2025.26 update rolling out 'shortly' to its electric cars, which adds the Grok assistant to vehicles equipped with AMD-powered infotainment systems, which have been available since mid-2021. According to Tesla, 'Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.' As Electrek notes, this should mean that whenever the update does reach customer-owned Teslas, it won't be much different than using the bot as an app on a connected phone. This isn't the first time the Grok bot has had these kinds of problems or similarly explained them. In February, it blamed a change made by an unnamed ex-OpenAI employee for the bot disregarding sources that accused Elon Musk or Donald Trump of spreading misinformation. Then, in May, it began inserting allegations of white genocide in South Africa into posts about almost any topic. The company again blamed an 'unauthorized modification,' and said it would start publishing Grok's system prompts publicly. xAI claims that a change on Monday, July 7th, 'triggered an unintended action' that added an older series of instructions to its system prompts telling it to be 'maximally based,' and 'not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.' The prompts are separate from the ones we noted were added to the bot a day earlier, and both sets are different from the ones the company says are currently in operation for the new Grok 4 assistant. These are the prompts specifically cited as connected to the problems: 'You tell it like it is and you are not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.' * Understand the tone, context and language of the post. Reflect that in your response.' * 'Reply to the post just like a human, keep it engaging, dont repeat the information which is already present in the original post.' The xAI explanation says those lines caused the Grok AI bot to break from other instructions that are supposed to prevent these types of responses, and instead produce 'unethical or controversial opinions to engage the user,' as well as 'reinforce any previously user-triggered leanings, including any hate speech in the same X thread,' and prioritize sticking to earlier posts from the thread.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store