Elon Musk to target GOP with new America Party

Elon Musk compared himself with the legendary Greek general who defeated the Spartans in 371 BC, saying he’ll use the same tactics on the Republicans.

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk with to reporters near Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House in March.

Elon Musk has promoted the establishment of his new America Party to smash what he calls the “uniparty system” following the passage of Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill”, with the world’s richest man warning that the country is being bankrupted by “waste and graft”.

After running a poll on his X social media platform on July 4 asking users whether he should create the America Party, Mr Musk posted the results a day later – after more than 1.2 million people voted – showing 65.4 per cent in favour compared to 34.6 per cent opposed.

Former DOGE chief @elonmusk says he's launching the third party "America Party" after President Trump signs a historic spending bill that he vocally opposed. pic.twitter.com/5PaH0OJtM3

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 5, 2025

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” he wrote.

In another post, Mr Musk said that his challenge to the two-party system would succeed the way Greek General Epaminondas had defeated the Spartans at Leuctra in 371BC through the use of an “extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield”.

He reposted a draft plan suggesting his party could be registered with the Federal Electoral Commission, allowing it to target two to three Senate seats and eight to 10 House districts, adding the comment “not hard tbh”.

He fell out with the President over the “big beautiful bill” in early June, with Mr Musk arguing it would massively increase the budget deficit.

After stepping down as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, Mr Musk took aim at Mr Trump’s legislative centrepiece by likening it to an exercise in “debt slavery”. He warned it would destroy millions of jobs, give handouts to industries of the past and damage the industries of the future.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN on Sunday local time that while the “principles of DOGE were very popular, I think, if you looked at the polling, Elon was not”.

“I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone,” Mr Bessent said. “So, I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.”

When they first fell out, Mr Musk said the US President was named in the Epstein files, suggesting that he should be impeached and replaced by JD Vance.

The feud was reignited last week when Mr Musk said he would back primary challenges to Republicans who supported the bill “if it is the last thing I do on this earth”.

Mr Trump responded by entertaining the idea of deporting the South African born Mr Musk, and turning the DOGE against him to remove his contracts and government subsidies.

“We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” he said.

However, key economic agencies and think tanks have also taken aim at the “big beautiful bill” with the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warning it would add $US3.4 trillion to federal deficits from 2025 to 2034.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget last week said it was the most expensive reconciliation bill in history and would add “$US4.1 trillion to the national debt through 2034. If its temporary provisions are extended permanently, that total would rise to $US5.5 trillion.”

It found the bill, as written, would lift the national debt from about 100 per cent of the economy today to 127 per cent by 2034. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas said the US economy might “enjoy a sugar-high the next couple of years, as borrowing stimulates near-term consumption”.

“But a sugar-high won’t be sustained, it will do real damage, and often what comes next is the crash. The longer-term health of our economy, American families, and our children will be worse off due to this debt-financed bill,” she said.

Mr Musk was the largest individual donor to the Trump campaign leading into the 2024 election, providing more than $US250m to the cause. Now he is asking his more than 220 million followers on X “When & where should we hold the inaugural American Party congress? This will be super fun!”