Musk announces forming of 'America Party' in further break from Trump
By David Brunnstrom and Bhargav Acharya Reuters July 6, 2025
Summary
- Musk forms 'America Party' opposing Trump's tax bill
- Musk's feud with Trump may impact Republican 2026 election chances
- Tesla shares affected by Musk-Trump fallout, despite Musk's wealth
- Musk criticizes Trump's tax bill as harmful to U.S. economy
- Musk plans to unseat lawmakers supporting Trump's tax bill
WASHINGTON, July 5 (Reuters) - The dispute between Republican President Donald Trump and his main campaign financier Elon Musk took another fractious turn on Saturday when the space and automotive billionaire announced the formation of a new political party, saying Trump's "big, beautiful" tax bill would bankrupt America.
A day after asking his followers on his X platform whether a new U.S. political party should be created, Musk declared in a post on Saturday that "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom."
The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.
"By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!" he wrote.
The announcement from Musk comes after Trump signed his self-styled "big, beautiful" tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which Musk fiercely opposed.
Musk, who became the word's richest man thanks to his Tesla car company and his SpaceX satellite firm, spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election and led the Department of Government Efficiency from the start of the president's second term aimed at slashing government spending.
The first sign of investor dissatisfaction with Musk's announcement followed later in the day. Investment firm Azoria Partners will postpone the listing of a Tesla exchange-traded fund, Azoria CEO James Fishback said in a post on X.
Fishback is asking Tesla's board to clarify Musk's political ambitions and said the new party undermines the confidence shareholders had that he would be focusing more on the company after leaving government service in May.
Musk said previously that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the bill.
Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk's companies receive from the federal government.
Republicans have expressed concern that Musk's on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.
Asked on X what was the one thing that made him go from loving Trump to attacking him, Musk said: "Increasing the deficit from an already insane $2T under Biden to $2.5T. This will bankrupt the country."
There was no immediate comment from Trump or the White House on Musk's announcement.
The feud with Trump, often described as one between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful, has led to several precipitous falls in Tesla's share price.
The stock soared after Trump's November reelection and hit a high of more than $488 in December, before losing more than half of its value in April and closing last week out at $315.35.
Despite Musk's deep pockets, breaking the Republican-Democratic duopoly will be a tall order, given that it has dominated American political life for more than 160 years, while Trump's approval ratings in polls in his second term have generally held firm above 40%, despite often divisive policies.
Reporting by Bhargav Acharya, additional reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan; Editing by Diane Craft, Nick Zieminski and Christian Schmollinger
Trump calls Musk's formation of new party "ridiculous" and criticizes his own NASA pick
By James Oliphant and Daniel Trotta July 7, 2025
Summary
- 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.
Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here.
"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
