The America Party: Elon Musk says he's formed new political party
Elon Musk says he has launched a new political party 'to give you back your freedom'.
'By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!' Mr Musk wrote on Saturday on his social media platform X, after a poll of his followers found 65 per cent support.
'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.'
Mr Musk offered no further details on the announcement.
The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire has been publicly toying with the idea of forming his own party in recent weeks after his dramatic breakup with US President Donald Trump over the 'Big Beautiful Bill'.
Elon Musk in the Oval Office. Picture: Allison Robbert/AFP
Mr Musk, who exited the Trump administration in May after spearheading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, had lobbied for weeks for Republicans to vote against the 'utterly insane and destructive' tax and spending bill.
The nearly 900-page bill narrowly passed the Senate on Thursday and was signed into law by Mr Trump on Friday, America's July 4 Independence Day holiday.
'Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?' Mr Musk wrote in his poll question on Friday.
He went on to suggest that 'one way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts'.
'Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people,' he wrote.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk in March. Picture: Roberto Schmidt/AFP
Mr Musk had expressed fierce opposition to the spending legislation, and ruthlessly attacked its Republican backers for supporting 'debt slavery'.
He quickly vowed to launch a new political party to challenge lawmakers who campaigned on reduced federal spending only to vote for the bill, which experts say will pile an extra $US3.4 trillion over a decade onto the US deficit.
'They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,' Mr Musk threatened last weekend. 'Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.'
A few hours later, he posted, 'If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.'
After Mr Musk heavily criticised the flagship spending bill, Mr Trump threatened to deport the tech tycoon and strip federal funds from his businesses.
'We'll have to take a look,' the President told reporters when asked if he would consider deporting Mr Musk, who was born in South Africa and has held US citizenship since 2002.
Originally published as The America Party: Elon Musk says he's formed new political party

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Daily Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
US politics live: Trump goes ballistic on Musk on social media
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics. Donald Trump's bitter feud with Elon Musk continues to escalate, with the President claiming his ex-political advisor is 'off the rails' and 'essentially becoming a train wreck'. The latest blow comes after Mr Musk announced he was launching a new political party - a move Mr Trump has labelled 'ridiculous'. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington DC where he will sit down with Mr Trump on Monday (US time) in a meeting he hopes could 'help advance' a Gaza ceasefire deal. Over in Texas, the death toll from the devastating Hill Country floods has risen to 78 – with at least 12 people still missing from Christian girls' summer camp, Camp Mystic. Five campers have been confirmed dead in the flooding, along with the camp's owner. Originally published as US politics live: 'Off the rails': Trump goes ballistic on Musk

News.com.au
39 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Break it Down: MTM locks in national security heavyweight
MTM Critical Metals is adding national security expert Gregory L. Bowman to the advisory board of US subsidiary Flash Metals USA.

Sky News AU
40 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Albanese government under pressure over lack of Trump meeting as deadline on tariff exemption looms
The Trump administration has extended its tariff freeze by three weeks, but pressure is mounting in Canberra amid fears Australia could still be targeted in Washington's sweeping trade reset. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Sunday that the next phase of Donald Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' will kick in on August 1, with dozens of countries facing a sharp increase unless they secure deals with the United States before then. Australia's tariff inclusion, which is currently subject to a 10 per cent blanket tariff and select duties on steel and aluminium, is raising alarm in both government and opposition ranks. 'We don't know yet (if Australia will receive a letter), that will be announced this week, but Australia is opposed to the reciprocal tariffs that have been foreshadowed for our nation,' Assistant Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News. 'There has been a pause on them, and that pause ends this week. We've said that this is not the actions of a friend.' The Albanese government has desperately attempted to gain an exemption from the basline tariffs but to no avail. 'When negotiating we're going to try to have those tariffs removed, but our expectation is that they will remain,' Mr Thistlethwaite said. 'Australia has fared better than any other nation in the world. There's no nation that has done better than Australia, we've got the minimum level at 10 per cent, we're hopeful that will be removed and we're negotiating that.' Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, however, blamed a lack of engagement from the Prime Minister, warning that Australia's favourable position was not guaranteed. 'We don't know what we're getting because the Prime Minister hasn't had the conversations with the US President, and it is a big problem to assume we're just going to get the 10 per cent and not get a letter. That's not good enough,' she said. 'The Opposition has been encouraging the government and supporting the government to actually have constructive conversations with the US President, and for some reason, it's been 45 days since his election, and there's been no conversation between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump.' 'I think it's vindication that the existing relationship has assured that we're protected from any high tariffs but don't for a moment assume that it's from any effort from this government because it's clear, and everyone can see that there's something wrong with that relationship.' Mr Albanese repeated his government's line last weekend, saying that the US tariffs were 'an act of economic self-harm' and that he would continue to make the case for an Australian exemption. 'We continue to be engaged with our American friends, but they have a different position on tariffs,' he said. 'If you look at what the impact has been so far, our beef exports are up, our exports in a range of other products are up as well. Lamb's down a little bit, steel and aluminium have been impacted, but not hugely. 'We are in a position where on July 9, that won't really have an impact on us because that's about other countries who have higher rates overnight.' Back in Washington, the Treasury Secretary warned that any nation not already in an advanced stage of negotiations could expect notification of the increased tariffs to arrive shortly. 'President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level,' Mr Bessent told CNN's State of the Union. 'We are saying this is when it's happening, if you want to speed things up, have at it, if you want to go back to the old rate that's your choice.' He insisted August 1 was not a new deadline, but simply the implementation date that followed the earlier 90-day pause. Trump originally unveiled the tariff plan in early April before pressing pause to allow countries time to negotiate. Bessent revealed that Washington would likely issue around 100 letters - mostly to smaller trading partners already hit with the 10 per cent base rate - unless significant progress was made. 'The playbook is to apply maximum pressure,' he said, pointing to Europe's shift in tone after Trump threatened 50 per cent tariffs last month. 'Three weeks ago, on Friday morning, President Trump threatened 50 per cent tariffs, and, within a few hours, five of the European national leaders had called him and Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU, was on the phone, and the EU is making very good progress. They were off to a slow start.' Trump himself has doubled down on the move, confirming letters will be issued next week. 'They'll start to pay on August 1. The money will start to come into the United States on August 1, in pretty much all cases,' he said on Friday. Australia has not yet received any such letter, but Thistlethwaite warned that the economic logic of the tariffs remains unclear. 'We've had a trade surplus with the United States, so, it doesn't make sense and ultimately it will be American consumers who will pay more for Australian goods,' he said. Still, he stressed that of all America's trading partners, 'Australia has done the best and that is a symbol of the strength between the nations.'