Elon Musk officially launched a new third political party over Independence Day weekend, escalating a dramatic and tumultuous public split with President Donald Trump.
The broadside came in response to a viral poll Musk posted on X — the social platform he owns — asking users whether he should move forward with forming an alternative to the GOP and Democratic parties. The response: over 1.2 million votes, with 65.4% in favor.
“Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party system,” he wrote. “You said yes. Now we act.”
On Saturday, Musk made it official.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” he declared on X. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Musk’s critics also noted that his viral X poll was not limited to U.S. voters and could be skewed by bots or foreign influence.
Others warned of structural challenges. America’s two-party system, reinforced by the Electoral College and strict ballot access laws, has historically marginalized third-party efforts. Even Ross Perot, who won nearly 19% of the vote in 1992, failed to secure a single Electoral College vote.
Some conservatives voiced concern the new party could split the right-leaning vote, giving Democrats an easier path to victory.
“Your third party will disproportionately take votes from the right vs. the left and give the left an easier path to power,” posted conservative commentator Shawn Farash. But some wonder if that’s what he’s hoping to do in an act of spite against the Republican Party for the passage of the BBB.
The timing of Musk’s announcement — less than 24 hours after Trump signed his sweeping $3.3 trillion “Big Beautiful Bill” into law — was no accident. While Musk and Trump were once close allies, with Musk serving as an unofficial innovation and efficiency czar, tensions reached a boiling point last month over the legislation.
While Musk publicly cited the bill’s trillions in new spending and rising federal debt as his primary objection, many observers suspect his real frustration lies elsewhere. Notably, the Big Beautiful Bill contains no provisions that directly benefit Musk’s core businesses — including Tesla and SpaceX. There is no electric vehicle mandate, no new EV subsidies, and no additional funding for green energy transition efforts that Musk has long advocated. Compared to past legislation that leaned heavily into climate incentives and renewable tech, the bill marks a sharp pivot toward traditional infrastructure and fossil fuel development.
Musk has also vowed to politically challenge every lawmaker who supported the Big Beautiful Bill, framing their votes as betrayals of fiscal sanity and public trust. “If you voted for this monstrosity, expect a primary — or worse,” he wrote on X. He pledged that the America Party would target incumbents in both parties who backed the legislation, saying they had “sold out the next generation for pork and poll numbers.” Musk’s aggressive posture signals that his new party may function as both a spoiler and a pressure campaign, aimed at reshaping the political landscape by punishing what he calls “debt dealers in disguise.”
Musk says his new party will be “fiscally conservative but forward-looking,” though specifics on its platform remain vague. According to posts on X, the “America Party” will focus initially on backing candidates in a small number of House and Senate races during the 2026 midterms.
The goal is not to win a majority immediately but to form a swing bloc powerful enough to disrupt what Musk calls the “uniparty system,” describing both Republicans and Democrats as addicted to “waste, spending, and pork,” calling the political establishment “a cartel” that ignores the will of the people — though his claims may strike some as ironic considering the lack of public enthusiasm for EV mandates and other policies he reportedly wanted included in the bill.
The announcement of Musk’s America Party furious backlash from White House allies — including Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who on Friday called for Musk’s deportation during a fiery podcast rant.
“The foul, the buffoon. Elmo the Mook — formerly known as Elon Musk,” Bannon said on his War Room podcast. “Only a foreigner could do this… A non-American starting an America Party. No, brother, you’re not an American. You’re a South African, and if we take enough time and prove the facts of that, you should be deported.”
“The fat, drunken slob called Bannon will go back to prison and this time for a long time,” Musk wrote on X Friday. “He has a lifetime of crime to pay for.”
Bannon, who served four months in federal prison for contempt of Congress related to the Jan. 6 investigation, has long accused Musk of being a disloyal opportunist. He has repeatedly warned that Musk’s influence in right-wing politics could have massive costs.
Whether the America Party comes to fruition or ends as another flash-in-the-pan experiment remains to be seen. But in the rapidly realigning world of politics in Trump’s second term, the era of strange alliances and public feuds is far from over.
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Musk is right in condemning the UniParty for self serving waste, but is the direction he wants to go any better?
Wont work done before & failed
Estd wins & we lose
Maybe Mr. Musk should have asked questions instead of having a fit. It took a long time to get to 37 trillion dollars in debt. Most of his DOGE efforts can only be taken care through other types of bills and legislatively. While the federal government is like a business, there are steps to clean it up, so don’t stop DOGE, we can still use the information.
Guess the money really is the bottom line even if it hurts America. Doing this will hurt America worse. Unbelievable how pride can cause a person to damage what he needs for his business to thrive.
From observation over 80 years, 3rd parties only dilute the vote, often throwing the result to the choice the majority do NOT desire. Politics has been said to consist of compramise with neither side getting all they want. Observe the multi party governments common overseas where ten or more parties are not uncommon, and often fail when one or more parties switch sides in the coalition, causing the government in place to fail. Italy being a prime example with Greece and Great Britain right behind. A two party system seems more stable, although it would help if the Democrat party did not march in lockstep and their legislators would not oppose anything the Republican party proposes ,even when it is something they would all vote for if they were in power.
The major problem I see is that campaign finance is so out of control that getting elected without national party support is very difficult ang obtaining that support implies rigid performance to a small group controlling it. This does not allow for voting the values and desires of local constituents as was intended by my understanding of the Founding Fathers intention in the Constitution.
I believe Mr. Musk would better serve the Country by working within the two party system, rather than throwing the election to the Democrats with a third party effort. Or as an alternate approach limit his third party effort to electing House and Senate seats that support his view, who will work within the system to further his goals and agenda.
Well, now the Dems have a way back into dominant control of the country. Thanks Musk.
Musk must never have studied how Hitler rose to power. Apparently history is not his strong suit.
This would dilute votes for the Republican Party! Stop this juvenile feud and get on with business at hand.