NEED TO KNOW
- Elon Musk has detailed his plans for a new political party amid his feud with President Donald Trump
- In an X post on Friday, July 4, Musk prompted his followers to vote on whether or not they thought it was time to start the “American Party”
- His plan, he said in part, was to focus on a few House and Senate seats that could serve as tiebreakers in the Republican-Democrat divide
Just a few weeks after departing the White House as a top advisor to President Donald Trump, Elon Musk has started detailing his plans to create a new political party.
In a post to X on Friday, July 4, Musk wrote, “Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?”
The post included a poll for followers to vote yes or no, and in a subsequent post, the 54-year-old tech billionaire shared his idea for how a new party could disrupt the Republican-Democrat divide.
“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” he wrote. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”
Supporters were quick to chime in, with one commenting, “Elon starting a 3rd party is closely akin to Tesla & SpaceX. Low probability of success, but if successful, it’ll completely change the game.”
Musk appeared to agree, reposting the user’s comment with a “100” emoji and an American flag.
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The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s latest political ideas come after a public split from the Trump White House after working as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
While Musk was always set to leave the post after his special government employee contract ended on May 30, it was said that he would continue on in an advisory role. However, his fierce criticism of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — the sweeping government budget plan that finally passed on Thursday, July 3, after weeks of deliberation — made the departure seem much more final.
Days later, Musk unleashed his true feelings about the president’s agenda on X.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” he wrote at the time. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
In a Tuesday, July 1, post on Truth Social, the president implied that Musk’s criticism of the budget bill stemmed mostly from his opposition to eliminating the electric vehicle mandate.
“Elon may get more [subsidies] than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump wrote. “No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.”
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Later that same day, the president threatened to leverage Musk’s former department against him, saying “BIG MONEY” could be saved by examining the billionaire’s government contracts.
“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible?” he wrote.
