Elon Musk launches new ‘America Party’ after falling out with Donald Trump
In 2024, Musk used his sizable fortune to propel both Donald Trump and the Republican party to victory over the Democrats. He spent roughly $288 million to support Trump and other Republican candidates
Washington: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced the launch of a new “America Party” on Saturday in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! 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 said in a post. The development comes just a month after Musk’s high profile falling out with US President Donald Trump.
While the party’s exact platform is unclear, Musk says he aims to shake up America’s two party political system, which is dominated by the Democratic and Republican parties. Musk hinted at what his new party would stand for by reposting another user on X, who stated that the outfit’s agenda will be focused on reducing debt, modernising the military with AI, less regulation, free speech and centrist policies. Musk has also publicly speculated that he could target select seats in America’s House of Representatives and the Senate in order to exercise greater political influence. Trump’s Republicans hold a slim majority in both chambers at present.
In 2024, Musk used his sizable fortune to propel both Donald Trump and the Republican party to victory over the Democrats. According to the Washington Post, Trump spent roughly $288 million last year to support Trump and other Republican candidates, which made him the largest donor in that election cycle. Trump then appointed Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with a remit to slash government expenditures in an effort to reduce the national debt.
However, their political partnership came to an end last month after Musk opposed Donald Trump’s new budget bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill”. The bill restricted tax credits for electric vehicles, which directly impacted Tesla, Musk’s $1 trillion dollar electric vehicles company.
The bill is also expected to inflate America’s national deficit, which Musk opposed. Musk publicly came out against the measure and lobbied Republican politicians to “kill the bill”, which soured the relationship between the two men. While tensions between them have since cooled, Musk’s launch of his new party could spark a renewed political battle since he has set up his party in opposition to the established Democratic and Republican parties.
It is unclear what the impact of this development will be on Musk’s businesses. Tesla, in particular, is battling stiff competition from Chinese competitors like BYD and its financial troubles were believed to be part of the reason why Musk decided to leave DOGE in early June.
