Less than three months after its launch, Elon Musk’s ‘America Party’ appears to have been shelved.
Musk allegedly told associates that he wants to focus on his companies and avoid starting a party that could siphon voters from the GOP, the The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with his plans.
Musk has also allegedly worked to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, considered the heir apparent to the MAGA movement, according to WSJ. The outlet added that the tech billionaire reportedly told associates he was concerned that forming a new political party would damage his relationship with the vice president.
While the plan is paused at the moment, Musk’s allies told WSJ that he has not formally ruled out launching the America Party and could revisit the idea as the 2026 midterms approach.
After spending months working with the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s time at the Trump White House came to an end on May 30. Though they appeared on good terms, President Donald Trump and the tech billionaire began trading barbs almost immediately.
A few days after leaving the administration, Musk posted on X — the social media platform he owns — criticizing legislation the Trump White House was promoting.
‘I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,’ Musk wrote.
His criticism continued, including memes and jabs aimed at the administration. Musk stayed firm in his opposition to the bill, citing the amount of spending as his reason for objecting to it.
On June 5, Musk posed a question — and a poll — to his followers: Should there be a new political party? The next day, he announced that ‘the people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!’
Musk asked a similar question nearly a month later, on July 4, the day Trump signed the ‘big, beautiful bill.’
‘Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?’ Musk included another poll with his post. In the end, 65.4% of respondents voted ‘yes,’ while 34.6% voted ‘no,’ showing a drastic change from his June poll in which 80.4% voted ‘yes.’
Musk announced the next day that ‘the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.’
‘I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 6. ‘He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The system seems not designed for them.’
However, the feud between the two appears to have cooled. The social media spats have stopped, and in late July Trump appeared to wish Musk well, writing on Truth Social that he wanted to see the tech billionaire’s businesses ‘thrive like never before.’
‘Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large-scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,’ Trump wrote.
A spokesperson for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.