Elon Musk, the tech magnate and former special government employee, once pledged to establish a third party to challenge his former employer, President Donald Trump.
However, according to insiders, Musk's plans have seemingly evaporated as swiftly as they were conceived.
Musk's departure from the federal government was marked by his dissatisfaction with the MAGA coalition following the enactment of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." Musk felt the bill did not sufficiently reduce spending and, in a series of tweets, promised to challenge anyone who supported the legislation.
He announced the creation of a new third party, the "America Party."
However, Musk has not mentioned this endeavor for over a month, leading insiders to speculate that he has begun to grasp the complexity of his pledge. As reported by the Daily Caller, James Fishback, a former adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) who initiated a PAC to counter the third-party threat, stated, "I think Elon recognizes that the President was right in calling it a 'ridiculous stunt.' It would do nothing to advance the issues that Elon cares about many of which I care about as well, many of which the President has cared about but it would only create an opportunity for the Democrats to win back the House or the Senate."
A month after Musk's apparent launch of the America Party, seemingly aimed at undermining Trump and the Republicans' 2026 midterm chances, a source familiar with the White House's thinking revealed that Musk's third party isn't even on their radar. A source from Trump's circle confirmed that the White House is not concerned about Musk's threat, as Musk hasn't even discussed it since July 6 when Trump dismissed the party as "ridiculous."
Fishback further revealed that since Musk's announcement of the party, there has been no indication, such as declared or interested candidates, that the Tesla CEO is serious about the endeavor. "As someone who has worked with Elon, who has had the opportunity to be an investor in Tesla from very early on, I can tell you that Im more interested in what he does than what he says, because he says a lot of things," Fishback stated. He concluded, "But the truth of the matter is that Im not worried about it at all, because it doesnt look like the America Party is going to happen."
Fishback believes there's a significant reason why Musk may have seemingly abandoned the party. He warned that the America Party has the potential to harm Republicans if it actually takes off, stating, "Make no mistake, there is a real threat to both Elon and to his businesses if the Democrats were to regain control. Thats a message that I shared privately with Tesla executives, and that may have been part of the reason why he attenuated his positioning on that."
Musk's tenure as a special employee of the federal government, where he led DOGE in a landmark effort to reduce waste in federal spending, lasted approximately 130 days. Before returning to the private sector, Musk held a final press conference with Trump in the Oval Office, where he was awarded the key to the White House. Days later, Musk publicly criticized Trump, targeting the presidents landmark legislation, the Big, Beautiful, Bill.
Trump retaliated by threatening to withdraw Musks contracts with the federal government, potentially even under the waste-cutting efforts of DOGE.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!
This public dispute sparked concerns among Republicans that Musk could leverage his financial clout against the president. At Musks first mention of the creation of the America Party, conservative pundits shared Fishbacks concerns about it hurting the GOP and seemed worried that it could divide the MAGA movement.
One source from Trump's circle revealed that they have been in a "wait and see" mode, anticipating whether Musk will actually undertake the task of creating a third party, such as recruiting congressional candidates, getting them on the ballot in different states, and then funding them.
While there is no indication that the White House is paying attention to Musks America Party, one source from Trump's world pointed to a potential problem that could arise should the Tesla chief change his mind. They expressed concern that there could be bad actors around Musk encouraging him to take on the monumental task of creating a third party, which would ultimately lead to a distraction for Republicans to deal with ahead of the midterms.
Despite the apparent inactivity of Musks third party, his political action committee (PAC), Building Americas Future, is taking a different direction. After repeatedly denouncing the Big Beautiful Bill, the PAC allocated $1 million to promote the law. But what if Musk decides to abandon his third party and use Building Americas Future to back candidates he wants to challenge the GOP?
One source from Trump's world confidently stated, If its Elons wall of money versus the Presidents endorsement, Ill bet on the Presidents endorsement every single time. This suggests that despite Musk's financial prowess, the power of the President's endorsement remains a formidable force in the political arena.
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