At odds with US President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk has made good on his threat. He has announced the creation of his new political party: the "America Party".
In response to the new budget bill
The CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X had warned that he would create a new political party if the budget bill by by the American president passed, which it did.
"Big Beautiful Bill"
Since the "Big Beautiful Bill" of Donald Trump was finally passed by Congress on July 3, then ratified by the President the following day, Musk moved into action.
A poll on X
The tech mogul had launched a poll on the idea on his X social network. "By a ratio of two to one, you want a new political party" he announced, as 65% of some 1.2 million voters answered "yes" for the creation of the "America Party".
Giving a voice to the "middle 80%"
According to a Gallup poll, in 2024, as in previous years, a clear majority of respondents (58% vs. 37%) considered the creation of a third party "necessary". Musk justified his move by explaining that it was intended to give a voice "to the middle 80%".
Trump mocks the third party
"I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. We're having tremendous success with the Republican Party," Donald Trump reacted to reporters in New Jersey. "I think launching a third party just adds to the confusion," he continued.
Musk is a "train wreck", says Trump
Shortly afterwards, on Truth Social, Trump said: I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely off the rails, essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States."
Former allies
Musk and Trump were close during the first months of the president's term. Musk had supported the Republican's election campaign with more than $270 million. He was also placed at the head of the Commission on Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk leaves Doge to turn Tesla around
He then left this position in May to take control of his businesses, in particular the electric vehicle company Tesla, whose image and sales have suffered around the world due to his association with Trump.
Musk says national debt will rise by $5000 billion
According to Musk, Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" will lead the country to "bankruptcy", denounced the billionaire on X.
Mobilizing DOGE against Musk?
Reacting to his opponent's criticism, Trump had said that the Commission on Government Efficiency (DOGE) could attack the public subsidies allocated to the latter's companies.
Exasperation mounts among Tesla shareholders
"While the core Musk supporters will back Musk at every turn no matter what, there is broader sense of exhaustion from many Tesla investors that Musk keeps heading down the political track," commented Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. The "initial relief" at his departure from DOGE was "short-lived", he added.
A 50% drop for Tesla
After peaking in December, Tesla's share price has plummeted by more than 50%, reports Forbes.
Tesla's share price fell again by almost 7%
Tesla's share price fell by almost 7% on Wall Street after Musk announced the creation of the "America Party". By the end of the day, it had fallen 6.79% to $293.94, dropping below the symbolic threshold of $1,000 billion in market capitalization.