Weeks after criticizing President Donald Trump’s policy agenda during their first “breakup,” and days after President Donald Trump signed his “big, beautiful bill” into law, Elon Musk announced on July 6 that he would be starting a new political party, dubbed the America Party.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk posted after an X poll showed a majority of respondents supported the idea. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
The former Trump adviser and head of the Department of Government Efficiency has repeatedly slammed the president’s massive tax and spending bill that was signed into law on July 4 and threatened to create a new political party if the legislation passes.
“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” Musk wrote in a June 30 post on X. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
After Musk’s announcement, Trump called the idea “ridiculous,” writing on writing on Truth Social that it will only lead to “Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS.”
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump posted. “The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!”
This isn’t the first time Musk has had the idea to form his own political party. In 2022, shortly before he became heavily involved in the Republican Party, Musk said he didn’t fully agree with either the Republican or Democratic parties.
“A party more moderate on all issues than either Reps or Dems would be ideal,” Musk said.
Musk’s citizenship in South Africa and Canada, along with the United States, does not affect his legal ability to form or lead a political party. However, Musk cannot run for president because he is not a natural-born U.S. citizen.
Regardless, experts believe Musk would face an uphill battle creating one.
So, if he did decide to proceed with his plan, how would it work? And could it?
Does Musk have enough financial power to do it?
Brett Kappel, a veteran election lawyer, told CBS News that creating a new party “can be done if you have endless amounts of money,” but it would be an expensive, long project.
As of July 1, Musk’s net worth is estimated to be $406.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He also has access to resources from his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, and ownership of X.
Musk’s financial status can’t necessarily save him. Before political parties are formally recognized, they are organized as not-for-profit groups and do not have a limit on how much money can be put into them, according to Kappel.
But if the party attained national recognition, Musk would be subject to the Federal Election Commission‘s cap on political contributions, which would only allow him to give $10,000 a year to a state political party or $44,300 to a national committee.
Musk could use his America PAC, the super PAC that allowed him to donate unlimited sums of money to the Trump campaign. The caveat, though, is that the PAC would need to remain independent from candidates or political parties, making it infeasible for Musk to donate to the party he founded.
Would people vote for the ‘America Party’?
Luckily for Musk, the share of registered voters unaffiliated with either major party has grown 9% since 2000, according to Ballotpedia. Thirty-seven percent of voters recognize themselves as Democrats, while 31% identify as Republicans.
Musk, who was heavily involved in the early stages of the Trump administration, as a special government employee at DOGE who aided Trump and other Republican candidates during the 2024 election, might have an “in” with adding a new third party to the ballots.
In Musk’s posts from Monday, he claimed there needs to be a political party that “cares about the people.” A new Gallup poll revealed that national pride has decreased in younger generations, coinciding with the debate that the government doesn’t care about the people.
Additionally, only 64% of Generation Z Republicans claim they are “extremely” or “very proud” to be American.
However, among political independents, 57% view Musk unfavorably, and only 29% view him favorably, significantly lower than Trump’s ratings, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters conducted last month.
Independents have been elected to Congress, but no third-party candidate has ever been elected president, due to the major parties regularly changing state laws or taking other steps to prevent third parties from receiving a spot on the ballot.
How would Musk navigate state laws and national rules?
Major third parties, such as the Green Party or the Libertarian Party, were founded decades ago yet still face state-by-state pushback for ballot access and party recognition.
Each state has different legal rules for recognizing which political parties can appear on the ballot. According to Kappel, those hurdles “range from high to extraordinarily difficult to overcome.” In rare cases, a developing political party may need to receive a certain number of signatures and then win a significant percentage of the vote across election cycles to appear on the ballot.
In the 2020 election, rapper Kanye West ran for president and attempted to affiliate himself with a third party, the “Birthday Party.” He also received guidance from Musk. Despite his name recognition and penchant for making headlines, West only appeared on ballots in 12 states. States with different laws ruled that he could not appear on their ballots, leading him to receive only 67,906 votes, not even making a percentage of the total votes cast in 2020.
In other states, like California, a new political party needs to sign up 0.33% of state voters, about 75,000 people, as registered members, or submit 1.1 million signatures from voters. Afterward, the party would need to maintain a .33% registration threshold, or win at least 2% of the statewide race.
To gain national recognition, a state-level political party would need to seek an advisory opinion from the FEC, and Musk would most likely face intense criticism from the Democratic and Republican parties, including legal challenges over signatures in each state. This would require Musk to spend tons of money on litigation in each state.
Will his past endorsements help or hurt him?
While Musk’s financial status might help him, his endorsements with previous politicians or political parties may sway voters from the America Party.
Musk endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008.
In 2024, Musk was the biggest spender in Republican politics, donating more than $290 million to Trump’s campaign and other GOP candidates. He’s also pushed Republican politics globally, posting in support of right-wing street demonstrations in Brazil and Ireland.
Even with Musk’s support for Trump, combined with his America PAC, more resources and a far larger organization would be needed to survive as a third party.
“Even if he could put in the money, he cannot replicate the amount of institutional structure these two parties have,” Bernard Tamas, a political science professor at Valdosta State University, told NBC News. “It’s an open question whether he can do it or not, but money is not enough. Money is not the only obstacle in front of third parties.”
Tamas said one possible scenario is Musk’s party being adopted by a major party, due to competition for the same voters.
Third parties that have succeeded in reaching their goals usually disappear within 10 years, according to Tamas.
“What you’re doing as a third party is you’re supposed to be causing pain,” he said. “You’re supposed to hurt them and hurt them by causing them to lose seats or lose elections, and then, once they lose, the hope is they co-opt whatever the third party is selling. They change themselves in order to stay alive.”
The Libertarian Party national chairman, Steven Nekhaila, suggested on Tuesday that Musk back his party instead of creating his own.
“Making a new third party would be a mistake,” Nekhaila told Politico. “The Libertarian Party is the most set-up party to be the dissident subversive party.”
If the reconciliation bill passes, it is unknown if Musk will begin to form the “America Party.”
