‘Musk should focus on business, not politics,' says Trump aide
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Bessent said the boards at Musk's companies Tesla and SpaceX would likely be concerned about his political plans. 'I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities,' Bessent said, according to Reuters.
Musk announced the creation of the 'America Party' on Saturday, saying it was in response to Trump's recently signed tax and spending law. Musk argued that the law would lead the US towards bankruptcy. He also said the party would try to unseat Republican lawmakers who supported the bill in next year's midterm elections.
Musk had previously been close to Trump, donating heavily to his re-election and serving briefly as an adviser on government reform. But their relationship changed after Musk opposed the new legislation, which cuts taxes and increases spending on defence and border security. The bill passed last week along party lines.
President Trump has said Musk is upset because the law removes tax credits for electric vehicles, which affects Tesla. He has also threatened to review the billions of dollars in government contracts and subsidies that Tesla and SpaceX receive.
In his remarks, Bessent downplayed Musk's influence on the public. 'The principles of DOGE were very popular,' he said. 'I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not.'
Musk's political move also received pushback from investors. Azoria Partners, an investment firm that had planned to launch a Tesla-related exchange-traded fund (ETF) this week, said it would delay the launch because of concerns about Musk's new role in politics.
Azoria CEO James Fishback criticised Musk on X , writing, 'I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO.' On Sunday, Fishback added: 'Elon left us with no other choice.'
Elon has gone too far.
My investment firm (@InvestAzoria) has decided to postpone next week's public listing of our Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF.
Our decision comes in direct response to @ElonMusk's announcement that he is launching a new national political party.
This creates… pic.twitter.com/d4pGCunY6l
— James Fishback (@j_fishback) July 6, 2025
Musk has not publicly responded to the investor criticism.
The White House did not comment on Musk's announcement. But Stephen Miran, head of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, defended the president's tax and spending plan on ABC's This Week.
'The one, big, beautiful bill is going to create growth on turbo charge,' Miran said. Musk's America Party has not released detailed plans yet, but his comments suggest he wants to challenge Republican incumbents in next year's elections who backed Trump's economic policies.
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