By CNN
Billionaire Elon Musk said Saturday he is forming a third political party, after a dramatic falling out with Donald Trump, indicating he will make good on threats he made if the president鈥檚 domestic policy bill became law.
鈥淲hen it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,鈥 Trump鈥檚 former 鈥渇irst buddy鈥 said on his social media platform, X. 鈥淭oday, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.鈥
Musk, the largest individual donor to Trump鈥檚 2024 presidential campaign and, until recently, a close adviser to the president who spearheaded his administration鈥檚 push to cut government waste, had criticized Trump鈥檚 鈥渂ig beautiful bill鈥 because of estimates that it would add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit.
Musk鈥檚 criticism of the bill was the catalyst for a major falling out between the two men last month. That feud seemingly cooled after Musk expressed regret and deleted the most incendiary social media posts he made about Trump, but it reignited in the last several days as the bill neared passage. Trump signed the bill into law on Friday.
It鈥檚 unclear to what extent Musk has taken steps to legally form the party, which would be required to register with the Federal Election Commission. The most recent FEC filings showed no indication that has happened.
The world鈥檚 richest man has indicated he wants a party that is fiscally conservative and reins in spending but has offered few other details about what the party鈥檚 platform would be.
Musk and Trump hold similar views on contemporary social issues. But Musk has argued the Republican policy agenda will increase the debt, calling it 鈥渄ebt slavery.鈥
The two-party system in the United States has long been criticized by both registered Democrats and registered Republicans, but efforts in the last century to form a third party have shown little success. Billionaire Ross Perot ran for president as an independent in 1992, winning nearly a fifth of the popular vote, but carried no states in the election, which was won by Bill Clinton.
As CNN previously reported, experts in campaign finance and political science say it is financially and legally difficult to create a new party, and voters and candidates are hesitant to join.
Musk said in other posts to social media this week that his party would become an active political force during next year鈥檚 midterm elections and that it would initially focus on supporting candidates in just a handful of House and Senate races.
Trump, in turn, has made his own threats against the man who at one point was his most visible adviser. The president said earlier this week the government may reconsider its massive contracts with Musk鈥檚 companies and described the Department of Government Efficiency, which the billionaire previously helmed, as a monster that may 鈥済o back and eat Elon.鈥
CNN鈥檚 Hadas Gold contributed to this report.