Elon Musk floated more ideas for his America Party as he continues his breakup with President Trump.
Mr. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, was a familiar face around Mr. Trump’s campaign, then in the White House as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
But in late May, Mr. Musk left DOGE and has been feuding with the president while ripping the One Big Beautiful Bill.
He took a poll on X Friday, hours before Mr. Trump signed his bill into law, asking his followers if they “want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system” and support the creation of the America Party.
The poll found that more than half back the new party.
In the comments, he outlined how the party could work.
“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 said. “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.”
Starting a new political party isn’t unheard of, but it’s not easy to catch on and make a national impact. At least 55 ballot-qualified political parties are in the U.S., according to Ballotpedia. The Democratic and Republican parties are recognized in all 50 states, but only a few third parties, including the Libertarian, Green and Constitution, are recognized in more than 10.
Even those third parties get only a small percentage of votes when they have candidates on the ballot. The Green Party’s Jill Stein won .6% of the vote in 2024, and the Libertarians’ Chase Oliver received .4%.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told CNN that creating a new political party “is not an easy process.”
“Well, certainly it’s possible, particularly for the world’s richest person. However, it is very difficult to do. I don’t think Elon Musk has really looked into the procedures of creating a political party,” he said. “Those of us who study such things for decades know that you have to be willing to spend an enormous amount of time and money, do careful planning. Will Elon Musk really stick with it?”
Mr. Sabato said typically those who start a political party are also the ones on the ballot. But even big names in history who started their own party failed to win.
Former President Teddy Roosevelt, who was president from 1901 to 1909, decided to run again in 1912, but this time under the Progressive or Bull Moose Party. While Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson won the election, Roosevelt earned enough of the popular vote, 27%, and electoral votes, 88, to make him the most successful third-party candidate in history. He earned more votes than incumbent Republican William Howard Taft.
Next on the list of electoral vote recipients among third-party candidates was George Wallace in 1968. He captured five states in the South and 46 electoral votes from the 13.5% of the people who voted for him. He finished third behind Republican winner Richard Nixon and Democrat Hubert Humphrey.
Billionaire Ross Perot entered the presidential race as an independent in 1992 against Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush and the winner, Democrat Bill Clinton. Perot lost with no electoral votes, but he claimed 19% of the popular vote.
He tried again in 1996 under his Reform Party, but this time only 8% voted for him as Clinton won reelection ahead of Republican Bob Dole.
Mr. Musk had floated the idea of a third party last month during his criticism of Mr. Trump’s bill.
“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Thursday. Mr. Trump signed it into law on Friday.
Mr. Musk is the richest man in the world. He played a big role in getting Mr. Trump and other Republicans elected in November, especially by spending nearly $300 million on their campaigns.
The president has hit back at some of Mr. Musk’s criticism. He said Mr. Musk’s anger derives from the removal of electric vehicle mandates in his bill.
He has threatened to use DOGE efforts on the CEO and even said he would look at deporting Mr. Musk, who was born in South Africa but is a U.S. citizen.
“We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday as he departed from the White House. “Wouldn’t that be terrible?”
Mr. Musk has said his opposition to the bill is not about the EV mandates. He has, in particular, railed against the potential increase to the debt ceiling in the bill.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame,” Mr. Musk wrote on social media late last month. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this earth.”
