Following the 2024 United States presidential election, a feud between Musk and Trump began in June 2025, over provisions in the then-proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.[3] The dispute escalated on June 5 after Trump publicly criticized Musk in a meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz.[4] Amid a series of posts on X chastising Trump, Musk proposed a political party to represent "the 80 percent in the middle",[5] attaching a survey allowing users to vote "yes" or "no".[6] The poll ended the following day with 80.4% of the 5.6 million respondents voting yes. Minutes after declaring that a party should be established based on the poll, Musk named it the "America Party".[7]
Avatar of Elon Musk
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system!
According to Reuters, Musk was "serious" about establishing the America Party despite seeking a resolution with Trump and outreach from the Trump administration.[12] As the One Big Beautiful Bill Act neared a vote in the Senate in late June, he vowed to form the America Party if the bill passed and promised to support primary challenges to Republicans who voted in favor of the bill;[13] the One Big Beautiful Bill Act returned to the House of Representatives days later, where it passed on July 3 along largely party lines.[14][15] Musk outlined a potential electoral strategy.[16] He referred to both the Republican and Democratic parties as a "uniparty," criticizing them for failing to offer real alternatives.[17]
In the days leading up to his announcement, Musk had discussed a political party with allies in conceptual—but not pragmatic—talks, according to The New York Times.[18] On July 4, Musk held a second survey on X, asking if the American people wanted "independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system". The poll would end the following day on July 5, with 65.4% voting in favor of the new party.[9] On the same day, Musk announced that he had established the America Party.[19]
On July 6, it was announced that Mark Cuban and Anthony Scaramucci would be "interested" in supporting the party, and offering aid to get the party on state ballots.[22] That same day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that "I imagine that those boards of directors [of his companies] did not like [Musk's] announcement yesterday, and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities."[23]
In a July 7 post to Truth Social, Donald Trump said he was "saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks."[24]
On July 30, James Fishback, a Tesla investor, reported that the launch of the America Party had stalled and that Musk had neither filed with the FEC to form the new party, nor endorsed any candidates on the America Party ballot line.[25][26]
The following month, Musk reportedly reconsidered the formation of the party, which would have been damaging to his relationship with the vice president, JD Vance.[27]
Ballot access
The America Party would face practical challenges of ballot access, with each state having its own rules on access.[28]
Musk has stated that the America Party is focused on deficit reduction[29] and has advocated for the party to be fiscally conservative.[1] Musk has remained vague on specifics about the platform, with pundits claiming the party's platform will just be his personal views.[30]
Nate Cohn, a New York Times politics analyst, posited that the America Party could gain legitimacy in the 2028 elections if dissatisfaction with the two-party system mounted over dismal economic conditions incurred by Donald Trump and Joe Biden.[33]Vox argued that Musk could negatively affect the Republican Party in the 2026 elections by focusing on competitive seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate, garnering a coalition of voters that lean futurist and technolibertarian.[34]
A preliminary survey conducted by Quantus Insights[unreliable source?] from June 30 to July 2 found that approximately 40% of Americans might support Elon Musk if he were to establish a third political party.[35] Specifically, 14% said they would be "very likely" to vote for the party, while 26% indicated they would be "somewhat likely" to support it. In contrast, 38% reported that they were unlikely to back the party, and the remaining participants were unsure. The poll revealed strong interest among male Republicans and nearly half of independent men, while older and Democratic voters were more skeptical.[17]
However, The New York Times also pointed out that, while "opinion polling has long shown that Americans are hungry for an option beyond the two major political parties", this has not translated into genuine support for third parties. Efforts by idealistic reformists to create a third party, including Ross Perot and his Reform Party in the 1990s, and the more recent Unite America and No Labels movements, as well as Andrew Yang's Forward Party, have all failed. In the same article, The New York Times also highlighted that Musk's claims of fundamentally reshaping American politics with a third party "suggest he had spent little time studying state ballot-access and federal campaign-finance laws" noting the "labyrinthine system" required for getting a name on a ballot in singular states let alone all 50 as well as pointing out the fact that New York has a ban on parties using the word "American" in their names. The New York Times concluded that it would've been easier, and cheaper, for Musk to attempt a hijacking of the Libertarian Party, which already has elements loyal to Musk, than to start his own political party.[36]
MSNBC also stated that "Unlimited money won't make up for not understanding election laws, political science or American history" in regards to Musk's party, also pointing out that the best third-party performance in recent years was Gary Johnson in 2016 which earned 3.3% of the vote. MSNBC also pointed out Yang and the Forward Party, Perot and the Reform Party, and No Labels, while also pointing out the failed Unity '08 and 2012's Americans Elect campaigns alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 bid for President. MSNBC concluded that Musk is centering his entire party on winning over Trump-supporting Republicans, and that this would never happen if Trump is his main opponent.[37]
Democratic support for Musk's third party includes Dean Phillips, who finished in second place amongst the candidates in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries and was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 3rd congressional district. He's personally stated an interest in meeting with Musk to discuss his plans for a third party,[38] having recently cited concerns that Democrats further to the left like Zohran Mamdani are a "grave threat" to the party.[39]
Alex Burns, writing for POLITICO, however, remained optimistic that Musk may find success if he makes clear, partisan positions on issues, calling them "targets of opportunity." Burns suggested various policies that Musk could pursue, including: focusing on opposing Trump's tariffs and "championing free trade", promoting fiscal conservatism, and advocating for technocratic interests.[40]
In early July, Musk stated that the America Party could focus on "two or three Senate seats" and "eight to ten House districts" to serve as the "deciding vote on contentious laws" and represent general will.[16] He later suggested that the party would run in the 2026 elections,[41] comparing his strategy to that used by the Greek general Epaminondas in the Battle of Leuctra, a "concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield".[42] Although Epaminondas won the Battle of Leuctra his success wouldn't last and would be killed at Mantinea.[30] He also stated that the party would caucus separately from both the Democratic and the Republican parties and that "legislative discussions would be had with both parties" afterward.[43]
A YouGov poll released on July 14 showed that although 45% of Americans thought a viable third party was "necessary", only 11% of Americans would support Musk's party.[46]
A July 15 poll by Echelon Insights asking which party you would vote for, found that while only 4.95% of voters would vote for Musk's party, that this almost exclusively pulled from the Republican party allowing the Democrats to win with a comfortable margin.[47]
A Quinnipiac University poll released on July 16 showed that 77% of Americans would not consider joining the party, with only 17% saying they would.[48]
A CNN poll released on July 17 showed that the vast majority of both adults (74%) and voters in general (77%) oppose Musk's new party, and that only 17% of voters would consider joining the party. CNN compared the results to Perot, noting that unlike Musk more than 50% of Americans supported him forming the Reform Party while only 37% of voters opposed his party.[49]
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