It’s not a third party or even a fourth party. There are already over 50 political parties in America that field candidates, including the Libertarian Party, Green Party, and Constitution Party. But none of them are headed by Elon Musk.
After a very public and nasty breakup with President Donald Trump, the billionaire entrepreneur announced the formation of a new national political party on Saturday, declaring that “the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Musk, once a Democrat, had enthusiastically supported Trump and was tapped to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump’s inauguration earlier this year.
But the alliance quickly unraveled in a series of fiery online exchanges, culminating in Musk’s blistering criticism of Trump’s signature legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which passed Congress and was signed into law on Independence Day. The sweeping spending bill, totaling more than $9 trillion, funds infrastructure, Arctic security, and new federal agencies, but Musk lambasted it as reckless.
“This bill will bankrupt the country,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.”
On Friday, Musk posted a flash poll to his 200 million followers, asking whether America needs a new political party. The response was swift and overwhelming — with more than 70% responding “yes,” according to Musk — prompting Saturday’s official announcement of the America Party.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” Musk declared. “We can’t wait for the system to fix itself. Today, the America Party is formed.”
While details about the party’s structure, leadership, or ballot access efforts are unknown, Musk’s deep pockets and massive online influence all but guarantee the effort will shake up the 2026 midterms and beyond. He has not indicated whether he will run for office himself, but as a foreign-born citizen, he is not eligible to be president. Those close to Musk suggest he is already in talks with disaffected independents and younger politicians disillusioned with the status quo.
Critics on both the left and right dismissed the move as a vanity project, while others warned it could fracture the conservative movement just as Trump seeks to consolidate his second-term agenda.
Trump wrote a long commentary about Musk’s move: “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The System seems not designed for them. The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running “machine,” that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country. It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time. I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning. People are now allowed to buy whatever they want – Gasoline Powered, Hybrids (which are doing very well), or New Technologies as they come about – No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate – It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that – I was very surprised! Additionally, Elon asked that one of his close friends run NASA and, while I thought his friend was very good, I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before. Elon probably was, also. I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life. My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”
For now, the tech mogul appears undeterred by the challenges of party politics. “If the system won’t change, we’ll build a new one,” he posted late Saturday. “That’s what Americans do.”
