Morristown: President Donald Trump has publicly scorned former ally Elon Musk’s launch of a new political party, labelling the initiative as “ridiculous.” Trump’s criticism comes after the tech billionaire, once a significant donor to his 2024 campaign, announced his intention to challenge the United States’ established “one-party system.”

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump asserted, “I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party… It’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion.” He reiterated that “Third parties have never worked,” adding, “So he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”

The dispute between the two prominent figures escalated after Musk, who previously led the Republicans’ effort to slash spending as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), criticised the President’s “massive domestic spending plan.” Musk has argued his opposition is primarily due to the bill’s impact on the US fiscal deficit and sovereign debt, vowing to challenge lawmakers who supported it. On Saturday, July 5, he formally created the “America Party” to pursue this goal.

In a later post on Truth Social, Trump intensified his attack, stating that Musk had gone “off the rails” and become “a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.” He contended that the creation of a third party would only lead to “Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS.” Trump also reiterated his belief that Musk, the owner of Tesla, had turned against him because the spending bill cut electric vehicle subsidies.

Earlier on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also weighed in, subtly criticising Musk’s political foray. When asked if Musk’s plan bothered the administration, Bessent suggested, “I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone.” He implied that boards would encourage Musk to prioritise his business activities over political ones. Musk had left DOGE in May to refocus on his corporate responsibilities, amidst reports that Tesla’s sales and image had suffered during his brief venture into Trump’s inner circle.

With inputs from AFP

NEW JERSEY, July 7 — US President Donald Trump yesterday slammed former ally Elon Musk’s launching of a new political party as “ridiculous,” deepening the Republican’s feud with the man who was once his biggest backer.

Trump also branded the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon a “TRAIN WRECK” who had gone “off the rails” after Musk said he wanted to challenge the current US political system.

The world’s richest man was almost inseparable from Trump as he headed the cost-cutting “Department of Government Efficiency,” but they fell out hard over the president’s “big beautiful” tax and spending mega-bill.

“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party,” Trump told reporters before he boarded Air Force One on his way back to Washington from his New Jersey golf club.

“It’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. Third parties have never worked. So he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous,” he said.

South African-born Musk announced on Saturday that he would create the so-called “America Party” to challenge what he called the United States’ “one-party system.”

Musk says the president’s massive domestic spending plan would explode the US debt, and has vowed to do everything in his power to defeat lawmakers who voted for it.

The former DOGE boss, who led a huge drive to slash federal spending and cut jobs, equated Trump’s Republicans with rival Democrats when it came to domestic spending.

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk posted on X, the social media platform that he owns.

Musk gave few details of his plan and it was not clear whether he had registered the party with US electoral authorities, but it could cause Republicans headaches in the 2026 midterm elections—and beyond.

Saddened

In a sign of how sensitive the issue could be for Trump, he took to his Truth Social network while still on Air Force One to double down on his assault on Musk.

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump posted.

“The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats.”

In a lengthy diatribe, Trump repeated his earlier assertion that Musk’s ownership of electric vehicle company Tesla had made him turn on the president due to the spending bill cutting subsidies for such automobiles.

Musk has insisted that his opposition is primarily due to the bill increasing the US fiscal deficit and sovereign debt.

Earlier on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also threw shade at Musk’s attempts to enter the political fray, telling him to stick to running his companies.

When asked by CNN if Musk’s plan bothered the Trump administration, Bessent offered thinly veiled criticism.

“I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone,” Bessent said.

“So I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.”

Musk left DOGE in May to focus full-time on his corporate responsibilities, with Tesla’s sales and image especially suffering from his brief venture into Trump’s inner circle.

Trump gave him a grand send-off in the Oval Office, during a bizarre ceremony during which Musk appeared with a black eye and received a golden key to the White House from the president.

But just days later the two were exchanging bitter insults on social media after Musk criticized Trump’s flagship spending bill.

Trump would not comment on Sunday when asked if he would be asking Musk to return the golden key. — AFP

Elon Musk says he has “formed” his new political party titled the “America Party.” The former lead of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) had promised to do just that if President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed. Musk has been—and continues to be—a vocal critic of the policy bill, arguing that it will “cause immense strategic harm” to America on account of the trillions of dollars the bill is projected to add to the debt of the country.

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“By a factor of two to one, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk said via his social media platform, X, on Saturday, a day after Trump signed the bill. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.” The Tesla CEO had opened a poll on July 4, Independence Day, asking his more than 220 million followers if he should create the new political party. Over 65% of the more than 1.2 million respondents voted “yes.” Read More: Musk Renews Promise to Start New Rival Political Party as Trump Debates Deporting Him Musk went on to share his potential strategy for “gaining independence from the two-party system,” arguing that he might try to “laser-focus on just two or three Senate seats and eight to 10 House districts” for his party. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people,” Musk elaborated.

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But as for what exactly Musk plans to do with his rival third party is largely open for discussion. Musk has yet to share any specific proposed policies or explicitly state what the core tenets of his party would be. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Trump said he was “saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely off the rails.” Commenting on Musk’s announcement, he said: “He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States. The system seems not designed for them. The one thing third parties are good for is the creation of complete and total disruption and chaos.”

Here’s what we do—and don’t—know about Musk’s vision for the America Party and how it came to be. What do we know of the America Party’s proposed policies? When Musk floated the idea of creating a new political party in early June amid the very public fracturing of his relationship with Trump, his one-time ally, Musk after conducting a poll said: “The people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!” He appeared to be referring to those who may not feel seen or represented by either the Republican Party or Democratic Party.

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Musk, the country’s biggest Republican donor, is seemingly committed to campaigning against any Republicans who showed support and voted for the Big, Beautiful Bill that he so vehemently opposes. “Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk said on June 30. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.” If he so desired, Musk could target pivotal congressional seats in an effort to turn them and thus potentially have the upper hand during votes on key matters. He seemingly referenced this plan with his July 4 post about establishing a “laser-focus on just two or three Senate seats and eight to 10 House districts.” Musk did not elaborate or specify which seats would be at the center of his focus. While Musk has yet to share an actual policy platform for his party, he has reposted and responded affirmatively to some of his X followers’ posts about what the platform could be. What appears to be on the docket is a platform that prioritizes cuts on debt and excess spending within the government, similar to what Musk pushed for during his time in the White House.

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One of Musk’s followers asked: “Is this the America Party platform?” They went on to list the following stances: Reduce debt, responsible spending only

Modernize military with AI/robotics

Pro tech, accelerate to win in AI

Less regulation across board, but especially in energy

Free speech

Pro natalist

Centrist policies everywhere else In response, Musk said “yeah!” and went on to repost the list to his millions of followers, but stopped short of providing his own official policy plan. Read More: Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Faces Opposition From Musk and Some Republicans as Senate Narrowly Votes to Advance It Musk’s split from Trump and the Republican Party Though Musk had voted Democrat previously, he played a vital role for the Republican Party when he became the largest donor of the 2024 presidential race, predominantly funding Trump’s campaign but also financially backing other Republicans via his super political action committee (PAC) titled America PAC.

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Musk became a close ally of Trump’s and appeared at major campaign rallies with him, addressing large crowds and urging them to vote for Trump. As a sign of their close working relationship, Trump appointed Musk as the lead of DOGE, a role he held until May. During his tenure, Musk became known for actualizing Trump’s vision of cutting “waste” in the government, which amounted to laying off thousands of federal employees. But Musk and Trump’s relationship soured, especially after the former took a public stance against the spending bill. “I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk told CBS News in May, shortly before he announced his DOGE departure. “But I don’t know if it could be both.” Going a step further in early June, Musk said the “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination” and told his millions of followers to “call your Senator, call your Congressman… kill the bill!”

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Musk and Trump engaged in an all-out war of words, exchanging jabs and lobbying threats—with Trump threatening to take away the government contracts for Musk’s companies, including the SpaceX firm that has become a critical player for NASA. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the falling out stemmed from Musk being unhappy over changes to the Electric Vehicle [EV] mandate. Tensions reignited once more when Musk renewed his calls for the policy bill not to be passed. When asked by reporters on July 1 if he was planning to deport Musk, who has U.S. and South African citizenship, Trump replied: “I don’t know, we’ll have to take a look.” “We might have to put DOGE on Elon. The monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible?” Trump said, appearing to refer to the contracts and subsidies that Musk’s prominent businesses have from the federal government. Read More: Musk Floats Idea of Starting New Rival Political Party—and Even Names It—Amid Trump Feud

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A third party has never been able to thrive in America’s two-party system Though Musk is looking to build a viable, competitive third party, it requires more than an X poll to actualize it in the U.S. In fact, many have tried before. Two major parties—Democratic and Republican—have dominated U.S. politics and no third party in recent memory has been able to penetrate the two-party system in a meaningful way. Former 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate Andrew Yang has pushed for representation beyond the two-party system, but has arguably encountered limited success with his Forward Party. In June, Yang expressed a keenness to join forces with Musk, seemingly hoping that the two of them may have a stronger chance of succeeding. “Elon has built world-class companies from nothing more than an idea multiple times, and in this instance, you have the vast majority of Americans who are hungry for a new approach,” Yang said in an interview with Politico. “I’m happy to spell it out for Elon, or anyone else who wants to head down this road. A third party can succeed very quickly.”

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Part of the reason third parties struggle is due to the U.S.’ “winner takes all” system in the Electoral College. 48 out of the 50 States award Electoral votes on a winner-takes-all basis (so does the District of Columbia).

This makes voting for third party candidates difficult. For example, support for the Tea Party held strong at 24% according to polls in the 2010s, though they rarely held significant political power, since the Republicans were often fearful of splitting votes in races with narrow margins, which would have risked giving the election to Democratic candidates.

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk listens as US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, U.S. on November 13, 2024. ALLISON ROBBERT/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Summary

Companies In his feud with Trump, Musk announces “America Party”

Musk plans challenges to Republican incumbents

Trump calls third party “ridiculous,” says US is built for two-party system

Investment firm delays launch of Tesla ETF

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Sunday called Elon Musk’s plans to form a new political party “ridiculous,” launching new barbs at the tech billionaire and saying the Musk ally he once named to lead NASA would have presented a conflict of interest given Musk’s business interests in space.

A day after Musk escalated his feud with Trump and announced the formation of a new U.S. political party, the Republican president was asked about it before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, as he returned to Washington upon visiting his nearby golf club.

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“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion,” Trump told reporters.

“It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”

Shortly after speaking about Musk, Trump posted further comments on his Truth Social platform, saying, “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”

Musk announced on Saturday that he is establishing the “America Party” in response to Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill , which Musk said would bankrupt the country.

“What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he’s just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??” Musk wrote on X on Sunday, referring to the government downsizing agency he briefly led. Critics have said the bill will damage the U.S. economy by significantly adding to the federal budget deficit.

Musk said his new party would in next year’s midterm elections look to unseat Republican lawmakers in Congress who backed the sweeping measure known as the “big, beautiful bill.”

Musk spent millions of dollars underwriting Trump’s 2024 re-election effort and, for a time, regularly showed up at the president’s side in the White House Oval Office and elsewhere. Their disagreement over the spending bill led to a falling out that Musk briefly tried unsuccessfully to repair.

Trump has said Musk is unhappy because the measure, which Trump signed into law on Friday, takes away green-energy credits for Tesla’s electric vehicles. The president has threatened to pull billions of dollars Tesla and SpaceX receive in government contracts and subsidies in response to Musk’s criticism.

NASA APPOINTMENT ‘INAPPROPRIATE’

Trump in his social media comments also said it was “inappropriate” to have named Musk ally Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator considering Musk’s business with the space agency. In December Trump named Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, to lead NASA but withdrew the nomination on May 31, before his Senate confirmation vote and without explanation.

Trump, who has yet to announce a new NASA nominee, on Sunday confirmed media reports he disapproved of Isaacman’s previous support for Democratic politicians.

“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life,” Trump said on Truth Social. “My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”

Musk’s announcement of a new party immediately brought a rebuke from Azoria Partners, which said on Saturday it will postpone the listing of its Azoria Tesla Convexity exchange-traded fund because the party’s creation posed “a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO.” Azoria was set to launch the Tesla ETF this week.

Azoria CEO James Fishback posted on X several critical comments about the new party and reiterated his support for Trump.

“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,” Fishback said.

Reporting by James Oliphant in Washington and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Gnaneshwar Rajan and Brendan O’Brien; Editing by Rami Ayyub, Dale Hudson, Diane Craft and Stephen Coates

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President Donald Trump took aim at Elon Musk after his former adviser announced the creation of new political party following staunch opposition to the president’s signature legislation.

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on social media July 6. “He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States.”

Musk announced the formation of the “America Party” on July 5, the day after Trump signed his mega-bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the legislation will increase the national debt by $3.4 trillion, which Musk as lambasted.

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X on July 5. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

Trump criticized third parties in his July 6 post.

“The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump wrote.

Musk − the world’s richest person with a worth of $405 billion, according to Forbes − spent nearly $290 million to help Trump and other Republicans get elected. In the opening months of Trump’s presidency, Musk led the effort to slash federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency.

The two have feuded in recent weeks as Musk strongly criticized Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military and deep spending cuts in Medicaid. The bill increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.

Musk has threatened to boost primary challengers against those who supported the bill, which included all but two Republicans in the House and three in the Senate.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk wrote before Trump signed the legislation. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Musk had taken steps to repair his strained relationship with the president ‒ including personally apologizing for insults he made during his combative exit from the Trump administration last month – before the new round of sparring.

Musk’s announcement of a new political party comes after he suggested in May that he would cease his political spending as he shifts his attention back to his companies Tesla and SpaceX.