Elon Musk, once a close associate of President Donald Trump, announced on Saturday that he had established a new political party in the United States. The tech billionaire explained that his decision was driven by a desire to disrupt what he views as America’s entrenched “one-party system.”
Elon Musk, who was not only the world’s wealthiest individual but also Donald Trump’s largest political benefactor during the 2024 election, experienced a dramatic rift with the president.
The fallout came after Musk, in his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded Republican efforts to implement sweeping budget cuts and reduce federal employment.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” the Space X and Tesla boss posted on X, the social media platform that he owns.
“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Musk cited a poll — posted on X on Friday, US Independence Day — in which he asked whether respondents “want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system” that has dominated US politics for some two centuries.
The yes-or-no survey earned more than 1.2 million responses.
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“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he posted on Saturday.
The simmering feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk flared up again late last month, as Trump pressured congressional Republicans to swiftly approve his sweeping domestic agenda bundled into the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill.
Musk emerged as a vocal critic of the legislation, unleashing scathing criticism against Republican lawmakers who backed it despite having campaigned on promises to rein in government spending. He argued that their support would entrench the country deeper into what he described as a cycle of debt dependency.
In response, Musk pledged to establish a new political party aimed at unseating those legislators, with analysts warning that the bill’s passage would add an estimated $3.4 trillion to the US deficit over the next decade.