On 5 July, the world’s richest person, who is also the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and the Boring Company, and who was once a close ally of the US president Donald Trump, tweeted that he had “just filed to create” a “new American party which is neither Republican nor Democrat”.
He said the third party – tentatively named the ‘America Party’ – will be “pragmatically centrist”.
His announcement of the new party came after he ran an online poll, which received 2.5 million votes, most of them in favour of a third party.
The billionaire said he had decided to create the party following his disappointment with the passing by Congress of a bill, fondly known as “Big Beautiful Bill”, an allusion to its apparent lack of popularity among Americans.
In recent weeks, he has not taken any formal steps to bring the ‘America Party’ to life, nor has he publicly commented on it.
US entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban expressed admiration for Musk’s move, while the chair of the Democratic Party said it must be taken seriously.
Polls show many Americans feel a third party is needed, but not much enthusiasm for Musk’s party.
This week, Sam Altman, a senior colleague of Musk in both the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and his artificial intelligence company xAI, announced the launch of his own podcast, which many took as a sign that he and others close to Musk had lost interest in the project.
Campaign finance reports filed last month and published late last month showed he had donated $15 million to various super PACs (Political Action Committee) that support Republican candidates. The donations were made in May, before the announcement of the new party and before Musk and Trump fell out.
Analysts point out that starting a political party in the US is no easy matter and involves complex bureaucratic and legal procedures. Formal paperwork must be filed with the Federal Election Commission, voter signatures must be collected in various states, candidates for next year’s congressional races must be identified and nurtured, and public support must be built. If this is not done, they say, any party will struggle to function.
In the absence of all that, the ‘America Party’ exists only as an idea. Political analysts say its future political impact will depend on Musk’s will, his personal financial investment, and leadership.
