USA The new Musk party: Can the billionaire hurt Trump?
Tech billionaire Elon Musk wants to build a new party in the USA. His stated goal: to break up the two-party system consisting of Donald Trump's Republicans on the one side and the Democrats on the other. It is unclear how far the richest man in the world will get with this. What he has already achieved is to take the feud with the US President to the extreme. Trump initially did not react at all to the announcement by his former confidant.
06.07.2025, 12:53
06.07.2025, 21:11
SDA
The "America Party"
The Tesla boss announced the name of the new party, the America Party, on his X platform. Musk wrote that the new party would "give US citizens back their freedom". He criticized: "When it comes to bankrupting the country through waste and bribery, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy."
Musk also shared a post outlining possible program priorities. Among them: Lowering the national debt and spending discipline, fighting for free speech, and deregulation. Documents on the America Party could already be found on the website of the Federal Election Commission, which is responsible for transparency in campaign financing.
From ally to mudslinging
Musk's move marks a temporary climax to the feud between Trump and the tech billionaire. No one would have expected this months ago: Musk had supported Trump's election campaign with more than 250 million dollars and was tasked with cutting costs in the government apparatus after the inauguration. The budget cuts and job cuts implemented by the Doge's committee were met with fierce criticism and protests.
After the election, Musk was a close confidant of Trump, who, to the astonishment of many, sat at the Cabinet table and - with his young son on his shoulders - virtually became the shadow of the President at many events in the White House.
But then a mud-slinging ensued at the beginning of June, sparked by Musk's strict rejection of Trump's budget policy plans. The two of them went at each other with fierce accusations on social media - anyone could read them. Musk wrote, for example: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election."
The Tesla boss, who also has an electric car plant in Brandenburg, left open what role he wants to play in the announced new party. Should he become actively involved in politics, he could present himself directly as a kind of opponent to Trump.
De facto two-party system in the USA
Unlike in Germany, where coalitions of several parties form the federal government and many parties sit in the Bundestag, politics in the USA is determined by Trump's current ruling Republicans on the one hand and the Democrats on the other.
Although other parties also exist, a two-party system de facto prevails. Smaller parties have little chance of major political success - partly due to the majority voting system, in which only the winner is elected and votes for other candidates are forfeited. The question is how promising Musk's plans are against this backdrop. At the same time, we must not forget: The tech entrepreneur has plenty of money and can mobilize. Musk is the type who likes to radically break up the established. Take the car industry with Tesla, for example.
Could Democrats benefit?
The question is which Americans Musk could appeal to with his new party. Will he damage Trump and take voters away from the Republicans? Could he even indirectly help the Democrats?
The TV channel CNN showed a poll from 2024 according to which 58% of adult respondents agreed with the statement that a third party is needed.
Musk cannot become president
The founder of the aerospace company SpaceX cannot become president himself because he was born in South Africa. However, as the richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of around 360 billion dollars, he believes he is in a position to significantly influence the outcome of elections at various levels. Weeks ago, Musk threatened to support opposing candidates for members of Congress who vote in favor of the Trump bill.
In March, however, the limits of Musk's political power became clear. He threw his weight into the election campaign for an important judgeship in the state of Wisconsin - and the Republican he supported lost clearly.
Musk has clearly positioned himself on the right
Musk is very unpopular with Democratic Party voters due to his hard-right political views. By breaking with Trump, a large part of the Republican political base could also turn away from him. Both parties have voters who find Trump's course too right-wing on the one hand and some of the Democrats' positions too liberal on the other. However, Musk has positioned himself so clearly to the right in recent years that he is likely to find it difficult to win over the center.
Most recently, Musk was once again very upset about the major tax and spending bill signed by Trump on Friday, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill". Among other things, he called for far greater spending cuts and warned that the further increase in national debt would burden future generations.
On Independence Day, Trump celebrated the bill as an important domestic political victory. Trump explained Musk's opposition to the law with the elimination of electric car subsidies.
Musk had already announced that he would found a new centrist party if the law were to pass. On Independence Day, the tech billionaire then launched a poll on X virtually contrary to Trump, in which he put the founding of the party to a vote. With around 1.25 million participants, a good 65% were in favor - not an overwhelming figure, as such polls on Musk's platform are often dominated by his supporters. On Saturday, Musk then added: "You want a new political party and you should have it."
