Elon Musk announces formation of new political party

Elon Musk, one of the world's richest individuals and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has announced the formation of a new political party in the United States. Musk said his initiative aims to challenge the country’s long-standing two-party system dominated by the Republicans and Democrats.

On Saturday, July 5, Musk made the announcement via a post on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the name of his new party: the "America Party."

“You want a new political party by a margin of 2 to 1, and I’m delivering it for you,” Musk wrote. “The America Party is born today to restore your freedom.”

However, according to a report by the BBC, it remains unclear whether the party has yet been officially registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Analysts believe Musk’s decision is largely driven by his deteriorating relationship with former U.S. President Donald Trump. Once a close ally, Musk had held a key advisory role during Trump’s administration. But in May of this year, Musk abruptly resigned from his position, triggering political tensions between the two.

The BBC reports that Musk's resignation was motivated by dissatisfaction with Trump’s latest budget bill, which Musk criticized for including massive spending and tax cuts while offering no incentives for green technology or electric vehicles. Musk went so far as to label Trump’s policies “anti-future.”

At one point, the Musk-Trump relationship was so close that Musk even took his four-year-old son to the White House to meet Trump. He also publicly supported Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, reportedly spending $250 million (around 2,900 crore Bangladeshi Taka) to help bring him back to power.

In return, Trump expressed gratitude by appointing Musk as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a special office tasked with advising on reducing unnecessary federal spending.

But after Musk’s resignation, Trump began launching scathing attacks against him. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump claimed, “Elon is probably the most subsidized individual in human history. Without those subsidies, he would’ve had to shut down and return to South Africa.”

Trump even threatened to investigate the subsidies Musk’s various companies have received from the government.

The BBC notes that within the U.S.'s two-party political dominance, it is extremely difficult for a new party to survive or gain real influence. While parties like the Libertarian Party, Green Party, and People’s Party have contested elections in the past, they have consistently fallen short against mainstream candidates.

Still, the international community is watching closely to see how far Elon Musk’s newly announced America Party can go, given his wealth, popularity, and influence.

However, since Musk was born in South Africa, he is constitutionally ineligible to run for U.S. President. It is still unclear who will lead the America Party or who its key figures will be.