Elon Musk has announced the formation of a new political party – the America Party – following an online poll of his followers on X.
The 54-year-old tech billionaire made the revelation on Saturday evening, just a day after asking users whether he should establish a new movement in response to what he described as a broken two-party system. His poll reportedly garnered over 1.2 million responses, according to The Telegraph.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” Mr Musk declared on X. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
The announcement comes amid a public falling-out between Mr Musk and Donald Trump. The former allies have clashed over the US president’s proposed legislation, dubbed a “big, beautiful bill”, which would deliver sweeping tax cuts for the wealthy, reduce spending on welfare programmes like Medicaid, and scale back incentives for electric vehicle buyers.
Mr Musk, whose businesses are closely tied to the electric vehicle industry, lashed out at Republican senators who supported the bill. “Liar,” he posted on X, threatening to place their faces on posters and accusing them of voting to increase America’s debt by $5 trillion. “I will do everything in my power to remove them from office,” he added.
Experts have estimated the legislation would add $3.4 trillion to the US deficit over a decade.
In a sharp response, Mr Trump threatened to strip federal subsidies from Mr Musk’s companies and even floated the idea of deporting the billionaire entrepreneur.
“We’ll have to take a look,” the president said when questioned by reporters about the possibility. Mr Trump, referring to Mr Musk’s South African roots, added: “He may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far… he’d probably have to head back home to South Africa.”
Despite Musk’s grand announcement, as of Saturday there were no filings with the US Federal Election Commission confirming the official registration of the America Party.