Politics
Trump Says Musk Has Gone ‘Completely Off the Rails’ After ‘America Party’ Launch
By Jake Beardslee · July 7, 2025
Elon Musk says he’s founding a new political party called the America Party, marking a significant escalation in his increasingly public feud with President Donald Trump.
“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk recently wrote on X, the platform he owns. He added that the new party’s focus for the next 12 months will be on influencing key House and Senate races to serve as a “deciding vote” on contentious legislation, citing the “razor-thin legislative margins” in Congress.
Musk’s announcement follows his vocal opposition to Trump’s recently signed “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping domestic policy package that includes large tax cuts and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, could add over $3 trillion to the national debt. Musk previously labeled the bill “debt slavery” and called it a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.”
The fallout between the two prominent figures has been sharp. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Musk had gone “completely off the rails,” accusing the Tesla CEO of launching a third party out of bitterness over the bill’s removal of electric vehicle incentives.
“He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States,” Trump wrote, also implying Musk’s motivations were personal.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent weighed in during a CNN appearance, saying, “The boards of Musk’s companies would rather he focus on business than on politics.” He added, “The principles of DOGE were very popular. I think, if you looked at the polling, Elon was not.”
Musk responded to Bessent on X: “The polling for me was very positive a year ago, which is why Trump used me so much.”
Polls suggest Musk’s popularity has dropped—from nearly 50% favorability in November to 35% last month, per Economist-YouGov.
Despite the controversy, some prominent figures have expressed support. Billionaire Mark Cuban replied to Musk’s announcement with celebratory emojis and offered assistance through @voterchoice to help the new party get on ballots. Former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci also reached out, saying, “I would like to meet to discuss. My DMs are open.”
The “America Party” rollout coincided with a July 4th poll Musk ran on X, where 65% of the 1.25 million respondents voted “Yes” when asked if they wanted “independence” from the two-party system.