Tech mogul’s new political movement comes one day after Trump signed $3.3T ‘big, beautiful bill’ into law
Elon Musk says the two-party system is broken, and he just launched a new political party to prove it.
On Saturday, Musk announced on X, the social media platform he owns, the formation of the “America Party,” calling it a direct response to what he described as a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people.
The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll on X, where Musk asked whether voters wanted independence from what he called the “two-party (some would say uniparty) system.”
Over 1.2 million votes were cast, with 65.4% saying “yes.”
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” Musk posted Saturday. “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.”
The move came just after President Donald Trump signed the “big, beautiful bill” into law Friday at the White House.
The sweeping $3.3 trillion legislation includes tax cuts, infrastructure spending and stimulus measures and has drawn criticism from fiscal conservatives and libertarians. Though Musk did not reference the bill directly in his America Party posts, the timing suggests rising friction between the billionaire and the president. Musk has previously warned that unchecked spending by both parties threatens the long-term health of the economy.
The new party, according to Musk’s posts, will target a few key seats in Congress. The goal is to create a swing bloc powerful enough to hold the balance of power and block what Musk sees as the worst excesses of both Republicans and Democrats.
Some on the right voiced concern in the comments section that a third party could split the conservative vote and help Democrats win more easily.
“Your third party will disproportionately take votes from the right vs the left and give the left an easier path to power,” conservative commentator Shawn Farash posted.
Others, like Joey Mannarino, urged Musk to focus instead on reforming the GOP from within.
Critics also pointed out that the X poll was informal, not limited to American voters and vulnerable to bots.
Third parties have traditionally had a difficult time gaining ground in American politics as the system is built for two dominant parties. With the Electoral College, winner-take-all elections and strict ballot access laws, outsiders cannot meaningfully compete. Even when a third-party candidate catches fire, it rarely lasts beyond a single election cycle.
Elon Musk’s America Party announcement comes after President Donald Trump signed his “big, beautiful bill” at the White House Friday. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
One of the biggest third-party efforts in recent history was Ross Perot’s 1992 run.
He earned nearly 19% of the popular vote as an independent but didn’t win a single Electoral College vote. It was the closest a third-party candidate got to the White House after President Teddy Roosevelt’s famed Bull Moose Party run in 1912 against his onetime protégé, William Howard Taft.
Others, like Ralph Nader, have tried with the Green Party, and Gary Johnson with the Libertarian Party, but no third-party candidate has come close to winning the Presidency.
