Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person said on Saturday that he would create a new political party, an enormous and challenging undertaking that would test the billionaire’s newfound influence on American politics.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Mr. Musk wrote on X, his social media website, on Saturday. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Mr. Musk, once a close ally and major contributor of funds of President Trump’s who in recent weeks has repeatedly bickered with him. Musk has not filed paperwork as for the new party, though he added in a separate post that the America Party would be active in elections “next year.” No immediate signs suggested that Mr. Musk was working to establish his party quickly. Any new entity would be required to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission.
According to media reports Mr. Musk has spoken with friends in recent days about his plan for a political party and what it would take to accomplish it, according to a person briefed on those conversations.
Elon Musk has donated nearly $300 million to Republican candidates in the 2024 election, and his super PAC led Mr. Trump’s get-out-the-vote operation in battleground states. But the tech billionaire failed to deliver the G.O.P. a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat this year, even after putting over $20 million into that race.
In a post on X Musk wrote that an initial approach could be to back America Party candidates in just two or three Senate races and between eight and 10 congressional races in next year’s midterm elections.
The two-party system has been a defining feature of modern American politics, and plenty of moderate billionaires have dreamed of a successful third-party effort for decades. But the barriers to creating a new, influential political party are plentiful, including heavily gerrymandered districts, deep political polarization and onerous state laws, some of which require expensive and complicated ballot-qualification procedures that would most likely challenge.
