Donald Trump slams Elon Musk's 'America Party' plan
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and until recently a close adviser to Trump, announced the creation of the America Party in a series of posts late on Saturday.
"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," he posted on X, the social media platform he owns.
On Sunday, Trump said it was "ridiculous" to start a third party.
"The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system," Trump said, adding, "and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed, but three parties have never worked."
Musk a vocal opponent of Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Musk first floated the idea of forming a new political party after a public and bitter falling-out with Trump.
Musk spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support Trump's re-election and led the so-called Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE in the Trump administration, which aimed to cut government spending, before their disagreements spilled into the open.
He revived the idea of a new political party this week as US lawmakers approved Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.
Musk was among the legislation's most vocal critics and has pledged to establish a new party to oppose Republicans who supported the bill.
On Friday, he posted a poll asking whether users "want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system," drawing over 1.2 million responses, with more than 60% in favour of a new party.
Musk faces a difficult legacy of third-party challenges
A truly competitive third party could disrupt over a century of Democratic and Republican dominance at all levels of government.
But Musk would not be the first person trying to establish a party to challenge their dominance.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt came the closest in 1912, after splitting from the Republican party. He ran as Progressive Party candidate and won 27% of the popular vote and 88 electoral votes.
More recently, Ross Perot, another billionaire, won 19% of the popular vote but no electoral votes in the 1992 presidential campaign as an independent and later formed the Reform Party.
Musk's billions meet ballot reality
Musk has already indicated that he is not aiming for an all-out win. Instead, his America Party would focus on flipping a couple of House and Senate seats by applying, "extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield."
He believes that by targeting key races, the America Party could hold decisive votes on contentious legislation.
A massive campaign war chest could give Musk an edge.
Parties spend billions of dollars to get their candidates elected. According to donations watchdog OpenSecrets, nearly $16 billion (about €13.58 billion) was spent across the 2024 presidential and congressional races.
Musk himself was the biggest donor in the 2023-24 election cycle. He gave more than $291 million to Republicans across all races.
However, money is not the only factor that matters.
In April, Musk provided million-dollar checks to some voters in Wisconsin ahead of an election for the state's Supreme Court.
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