Musk’s America Party: A Billionaire’s Direct Challenge to Washington’s Power Structure
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has launched the America Party, a new political group in the United States.
This move comes after Musk’s public split with President Donald Trump, whom he had supported with hundreds of millions of dollars and by leading a government efficiency effort.
Musk announced the party on his social media platform, X, after Congress passed a $3.3 trillion tax and spending bill.
Musk strongly opposed the bill, saying it would add too much to the national debt and waste taxpayer money.
The Congressional Budget Office projects the bill will increase U.S. debt by $3.3 trillion over the next decade.
Instead of running for president, Musk wants the America Party to focus on a few key races in Congress. He plans to target two or three Senate seats and eight to ten House districts.
By winning just a handful of seats, the party could hold the deciding votes on important laws.
Musk believes this would force both major parties to negotiate and could change how decisions are made in Washington.
Musk’s America Party: A Billionaire’s Direct Challenge to Washington’s Power Structure
Musk’s break with Trump also involves business interests. After Musk criticized the spending bill, Trump threatened to cut federal subsidies to Musk’s companies, including Tesla.
Musk has already spent over $280 million on political donations in the 2024 election cycle, making him the largest donor, mostly to Trump and other Republicans.
Now, he plans to use his money to back America Party candidates in the targeted races. The United States has rarely seen third parties succeed.
The last major effort was by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, who won 27% of the vote but lost the presidency. Today, only two senators in Congress are not from the main parties.
Musk’s move shows growing frustration among business leaders and voters with the two-party system.
If the America Party wins even a few seats, it could have real power in Congress and force more compromise.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error