Elon Musk wants to form a third major political party
Image: Matt Rourke/AP
On Saturday, Elon Musk declared his intent to create a new major US political party to compete with Democrats and Republicans in elections starting next year.
Driving the move: The world’s richest man said his new “America Party” is a direct response to President Trump signing his tax-and-spending megabill into law this weekend, which Musk has framed as a “disgusting abomination” that would “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit.”
- The man who shares a last name with a fragrance note in perfumes has yet to file any paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, but his America Party has already been endorsed by a handful of political and public figures, including Mark Cuban.
However, Musk faces two primary problems
Challenging the Democratic and Republican parties on a national scale is far easier said than done. The most successful third-party run in modern US history—Ross Perot’s 1992 campaign—received just under 19% of the popular vote, and didn’t win any state contests or receive any electoral votes.
Experts attribute this to two main reasons:
- Federal law mandates that all members of Congress are elected from single-member districts, meaning each voting district is represented by one person (and one party). This setup naturally resolves into a two-party system, as per Duverger's law.
- Democrat and GOP-controlled state legislatures have given themselves automatic pathways to being on the ballot each election, while imposing relatively difficult requirements for all other parties. This entrenchment also makes it difficult for third-party candidates to qualify for presidential debates, like RFK Jr. in 2024.
Big picture: The move further deepens Musk’s break from President Trump, whom Musk supported with ~$250 million in the 2024 election and spent four months serving under as head of DOGE. Moving forward, the America Party’s initial approach will be to back candidates in just two or three Senate seats and 8-10 House districts for next year’s midterm elections—and if successful, “that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws” due to razor-thin margins in Congress.
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Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that the idea of a third party is always popular as a concept but harder to pull off in practice—especially without candidates or policies—but Musk could be uniquely positioned to make the idea work.
- Others contend that the idea of a centrist third party has been a bit of a running joke in recent years—but that could soon change due to the emergence of a massive constituency in the US who doesn’t fit within the modern Republican or Democratic parties.
- “Can Elon Musk seriously start a third party?” –Matt Bai, Megan McArdle, and Karen Tumulty, WaPo
- “Is There an Opening for a Third Party?” –Nate Cohn, NY Times
- “Trump and Musk Are Now at War — Threatening Each Other With Mutually Assured Destruction” –Colby Hall, Mediaite
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that Musk appears to believe that he has too much money to ignore, which is probably true—but that doesn’t mean he’ll be taken seriously when challenging Trump and both major political parties moving forward.
- Others contend that regardless of whether he’s really serious or just trolling, Musk isn’t the face of Team Trump anymore—meaning a rudderless Democratic Party bent on performative protest moves against Trump seems likely to embrace Musk once again.
- “Elon Musk goes off again” –Byron York, Washington Examiner
- “Will Dems re-embrace Musk now that he’s feuding with Trump?” –Boston Herald Editorial Board
- “Musk Is a Genius, but He Isn’t a Political One” –Joshua Claybourn, WSJ
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