By Martin Shwenk Leade
APElon Musk (AP)
Here鈥檚 the thing. Elon Musk didn鈥檛 just announce the America Party out of the blue. He tested the waters first. On 4 July, he posted a poll on X: 鈥淒o you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system?鈥 Over 1.2 million people answered. By a 2-to-1 margin, they said yes.So Musk replied, 鈥淏y a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!鈥 He doubled down, adding, 鈥淭oday, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.鈥滺e even shared a meme, a two-headed snake, labelled 鈥淓nd the Uniparty鈥. Subtlety isn鈥檛 really his style.鈥 elonmusk (@elonmusk) Can Musk actually run? Not so fastPlenty of his followers immediately wondered: is he doing this so he can run for president? The answer is no, not legally. The US Constitution is clear. Article II, Section 1 says only a natural-born citizen can run for president. Musk was born in South Africa. He鈥檚 said it plainly: 鈥淚 cannot be president because of my African birth.鈥滾ive EventsHe didn鈥檛 exactly sound heartbroken about it either. Back when he was still in Trump鈥檚 corner in 2024, he told a crowd, 鈥淚 actually don鈥檛 want to be president. I want to build rockets and cars.鈥濃 AmericaPartyX (@AmericaPartyX) Still, he hinted at wanting a hand in how the government runs. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that we get President Trump elected, and then I鈥檒l work hard on the Department of Government Efficiency,鈥 he said then.From ally to adversaryThis breakaway move didn鈥檛 happen in a vacuum. Just weeks ago, Congress passed Trump鈥檚 so-called Big Beautiful Bill, a tax and spending package Musk hated. It scrapped a popular $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, which obviously hits Tesla square in the wallet.Musk went on the attack. He threatened Congress on X: 鈥淚f this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day.鈥 True to his word, he pulled the trigger as soon as Trump signed it.Money is not an issueWhen it comes to funding, Musk has enough to bankroll this project on his own. Forbes pegs his wealth at $405 billion. He鈥檚 already spent big 鈥 his America PAC dropped about $40.5 million backing Trump鈥檚 2024 run. It could now pivot to the America Party.But US law does put limits on direct donations. The McCain-Feingold Act caps individual contributions to a party at $450,000. So unless he wants to play within those limits, Musk will likely lean on super PACs, loopholes that let billionaires spend pretty much what they like, as long as they don鈥檛 coordinate too directly.Who else is in America Party?Right now, the official list of America Party leaders begins and ends with Musk. But the gossip mill is churning. Some point to Representative Thomas Massie, who voted against the Big Beautiful Bill. Andrew Yang, who co-founded the Forward Party, has said he鈥檚 open to teaming up, given their mutual hatred for the status quo.Then there鈥檚 the rumour mill, with Trump ally Laura Loomer claiming 鈥淭ucker Carlson, MTG and Thomas Massie鈥 are all potential leaders. Ron DeSantis鈥 name gets tossed around too, but there鈥檚 no proof he鈥檚 interested.So what does Musk want to do with this thing? When asked 鈥淢idterms or 2028?鈥 about election plans, he fired back: 鈥淣ext year.鈥 That means the America Party wants to jump into the 2026 midterms targeting House and Senate seats.Will it work? Hard to say. Third parties in America are graveyards for big ideas. The Democrats and Republicans have the machinery, money and courts on their side. But this is Elon Musk. If anyone can throw money, memes and outrage at a political system to see what sticks, it鈥檚 him.One thing鈥檚 clear: the man doesn鈥檛 need a title to make noise. He just needs a stage and right now, he鈥檚 building one.Musk鈥檚 beef with the two-party system isn鈥檛 new. He鈥檚 long floated the idea of a rival force to break what he calls a political duopoly. The final straw came when Trump鈥檚 administration pushed a spending package that Musk argued punished future-focused industries like EVs while propping up older sectors. His public fallout with Trump ended his brief stint leading the Department of Government Efficiency or as Musk liked to call it, DOGE. The irony wasn鈥檛 lost on anyone.The America Party is his latest bet that he can reshape US politics like he did the car and space industries. Whether it鈥檚 a genuine push for change or just a very loud protest, only time, and a few billion dollars, will tell.(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Read More News onElon Musk America PartyMusk political party2026 midterm electionsThomas Massiefunding America PartyAndrew YangTrump spending billAmerica Partysuper PACs
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onElon Musk America PartyMusk political party2026 midterm electionsThomas Massiefunding America PartyAndrew YangTrump spending billAmerica Partysuper PACs(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
Explore More Stories123