CNBC Daily Open: Most people don't start a political party after separation
What does the world's richest man do? He starts a political party.
Last weekend, as the United States celebrated its independence from the British in 1776, Elon Musk enshrined his sovereignty from U.S. President Donald Trump by establishing the creatively named "American Party."
Few details have been revealed, but Musk said the party will focus on "just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts," and will have legislative discussions "with both parties" — referring to the U.S. Democratic and Republican Parties.
It might be easier to realize Musk's dream of colonizing Mars than to bridge the political aisle in the U.S. government today.
To be fair, some thought appeared to be behind the move. Musk decided to form the party after holding a poll on X in which 65.4% of respondents voted in favor.
Folks, here's direct democracy — and the powerful post-separation motivation — in action.Trump confirms tariffs will kick in Aug. 1. That postpones the deadline by a month, but tariffs could "boomerang" back to April levels for countries without deals. Trump on Friday said letters with "take it or leave it" offers will go out to 12 countries Monday.
U.S. stock futures slipped Sunday. Despite the White House pushing back the return of "reciprocal" tariffs, some investors could be worried trade negotiations would result in higher-than-expected duties. Europe's Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.48% Friday.
OPEC+ members to increase oil output. Eight members of the alliance agreed on Saturday to hike their collective crude production by 548,000 barrels per day, around 100,000 more than expected.
Elon Musk forms a new political party. On Saturday, the world's richest man said he has formed a new U.S. political party named the "American Party," which he claims will give Americans "back your freedom."
[PRO] Wall Street is growing cautious on European equities. As investors seek shelter from tumult in U.S., the Stoxx 600 index has risen 6.6% year to date. Analysts, however, think the foundations of that growth could be shaky.
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UPI
9 minutes ago
- UPI
Tesla shares drop 7% after Musk unveils new U.S. political party
1 of 2 | Tesla shares sold at $293 per share in morning trading but was on track to see its worst day of trading since June 5 when it tumbled 14% as the feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk (pictured May 30 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.) and U.S. President Donald Trump erupted into public view. File Photo by Francis Chung/UPI | License Photo July 7 (UPI) -- Stock shares in Elon Musk's car company Tesla fell about 7% Monday after the billionaire ex-Trump administration official announced plans to form his new "America Party." Tesla shares sold at $293 per share in morning trading but was on track to see its worst day of trading since June 5 when it tumbled 14% as the feud between Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump erupted into public view. On Saturday, the world's richest man said the so-called America Party may focus on "just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts," going so far to suggest it could be "enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people." Tesla saw a Wall Street rebound in May after Musk left his Department of Government Efficiency role amid a decline in company sales. However, Musk could lose federal subsidies that support SpaceX and his Starlink global satellite Internet services provider, Trump recently warned, as Tesla stock saw a drop on July 1. In April, Tesla shares saw a 5% jump at one point during daily trading as Musk teased about exiting the White House, which later called the reports "garbage." But Musk's heavy involvement in U.S. political affairs has made investors nervous. "Very simply, Musk diving deeper into politics and now trying to take on the Beltway establishment is exactly the opposite direction that Tesla investors/shareholders want him to take during this crucial period for the Tesla story," Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, said Sunday in a note. Musk and Trump have clashed over the Republican's recently-passed tax spending bill for which no Democrat voted for approval. "While the core Musk supporters will back Musk at every turn no matter what, there is broader sense of exhaustion from many Tesla investors that Musk keeps heading down the political track," Ives added. On Sunday, the president called the creation of Musk's new America Party "ridiculous" and stated the Tesla chief had gone "completely off the rails" as Musk sided with Democrats saying Trump's new tax bill will add trillions to the U.S. national debt. Sales of Tesla's EVs fell over 13% from April to June versus the same time last year. In addition, European sales dropped by nearly 50% in April. Meanwhile, Tesla reported a staggering 14% year-on-year-decline in its second-quarter car deliveries, missing its own expectations as nationwide "Tesla Takedown" protests gripped the EV maker and Tesla dealerships dealt with acts of arson fueled in anger over Musk's meddling in U.S. government policies and operations. Also, Tesla faces rising competition in the Chinese market as other global companies, such as Apple, seek to end reliance on China's hefty manufacturing capabilities.
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Ted Budd (R-N.C.) told reporters at the Capitol on Monday, noting that 'some sort of wide-ranging notification should have been possible.' 'That didn't happen. That's not anything from the national level, but I think we need to take a look at how to prevent this. It was just a bad situation all around,' said Budd, who has dealt with the recovery of Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene for most of the past year. 'This was a horrible storm. … This was an act of nature.' Some Democrats, for their part, are highlighting the cuts to the NWS as a potential reason that warnings from weather experts and local authorities did not reach the victims in time to compel an evacuation. 'I'm personally praying that Donald Trump finally understands this is not a game — it's real life and there are serious consequences to playing politics with our security and emergency preparedness,' Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement. 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