Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and former ally of President Donald Trump, announced the formation of a new political party in the United States on Saturday.
The new group, called the America Party, aims to disrupt what Musk describes as a “one-party system” entrenched in wasteful spending and corruption.
The announcement came via a post on X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform owned by Musk.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk wrote.
“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Musk’s break with Trump follows a contentious fallout after serving as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-created agency tasked with cutting federal spending and jobs. Once Trump’s largest political donor in the 2024 election, Musk turned against the president over what he viewed as excessive domestic spending.
Musk fiercely criticized Trump’s sweeping economic agenda particularly the controversial One Big Beautiful Bill, which he said would saddle the country with unsustainable debt.
“They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” Musk declared earlier in the week, referencing lawmakers who supported the bill despite campaigning on fiscal restraint.
Following passage of the bill, tensions escalated, with Trump hinting at potential retaliation against Musk.
“We’ll have to take a look,” Trump said when asked whether he would consider deporting Musk, a South African-born entrepreneur who became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and defund his companies.
In support of his new party’s launch, Musk cited a poll he conducted on July 4th, U.S Independence Day, asking followers whether they desired “independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system.” The poll received over 1.2 million responses.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” Musk posted on Saturday.
He also shared a meme on X featuring a two-headed snake with the caption: “End the Uniparty.”
While it remains uncertain how the America Party will affect the upcoming 2026 midterms or the 2028 presidential election, Musk laid out a preliminary roadmap.
He proposed targeting a small number of key races to gain influence.
“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” he wrote.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be contested in 2026, along with roughly one-third of the Senate’s 100 seats.
Critics quickly weighed in on Musk’s move, warning that third-party campaigns often fracture votes and unintentionally help opposing candidates. One user on X wrote:
“You are pulling a Ross Perot, and I don’t like it.”
