Elon Musk threatens to start new U.S. political party

Elon Musk may soon launch his own political party. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has announced his intention to form the "America Party" if President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passes, continuing to rail against what he calls "insane spending."

"If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day," Musk posted to X on Monday. "Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE."

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Previously a close ally of Trump, Musk has had a dramatic falling out with the U.S. president in recent weeks. The billionaire left his position as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the end of May and publicly criticised Trump's budget bill, with the two feuding on social media since. Musk even accused Trump of being "in the Epstein files," though he later said that he regretted his posts. Time will tell whether he regrets these ones as well.

"It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country — the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" Musk wrote. "Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people."

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According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan organisation which analyses federal budgets, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could potentially add $5 trillion to the country's debt within the next decade. The similarly non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has offered a slightly more optimistic analysis, however it still predicts the act could increase U.S. debt by approximately $3.3 trillion.

Trump has been pushing for his proposed budget to be passed prior to July 4. Though voting on the bill has commenced, as of writing the Senate has not yet passed the legislation and is continuing to vote on amendments.

"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 posted on Monday. "And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth."

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Despite his threats, Musk has a lengthy history of making pledges he's been unable to keep. Musk initially promised that DOGE would reduce government spending by at least $2 trillion, however subsequently revised this goal down to $150 billion within three months of Trump's inauguration. Instead, DOGE has primarily thrown U.S. government agencies into turmoil, laying off over 280,000 workers and even working to entirely dismantle some agencies.

Of course, DOGE also demonstrated that forming an organisation is a much simpler task than actually delivering on its promises. The richest man in the world is already talking about soliciting funds for an election campaign, despite having a net worth of over $400 billion.

Musk also ran a poll on X asking, "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" The poll garnered approximately 5.6 million responses, with around 80 percent responding in the affirmative.

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"VOX POPULI, VOX DEI," Musk posted when sharing the results (emphasis original). 

"Vox populi, vox dei" is a Latin phrase meaning "the voice of the people [is] the voice of God." Musk has previously used it when running other polls, though the results don't appear to have any real impact on his actions. The phrase is actually an abbreviation of the full quotation: "Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit." Translated: "And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness."

If Musk does establish a new U.S. political party, he will technically be unable to run for president himself. Under Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution, a person must be "a natural born Citizen" in order to be eligible for the office of president. As Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, this disqualifies him as a candidate. Even so, it wouldn't be surprising if he attempted to use a proxy or find some other other way around this.