Tech billionaire Elon Musk has set aside his idea of a third party in exchange for staying in the good graces of Republicans and focusing on his companies.
He first floated the idea of an America Party after his public breakup with President Trump in the spring. Once the golden child of the Trump administration, Mr. Musk turned into the proverbial weird uncle the administration wanted to separate itself from.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO told allies that he wants to focus on his companies that suffered during his ties to the administration and doesn’t want to anger Republicans by potentially siphoning off any GOP votes, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of his plans.
Mr. Musk, responding to the report Wednesday, wrote on X, “Nothing [The Journal] says should ever be thought of as true.”
The outlet reported that the world’s richest man wants to maintain his ties to Vice President J.D. Vance, who has increasingly been considered the heir to the MAGA throne, and has told associates he will financially back Mr. Vance should he run for president in 2028.
Mr. Musk played a big role in getting Mr. Trump and other Republicans elected in November, especially by spending nearly $300 million on their campaigns.
The tech billionaire hasn’t completely ruled out the idea of a third party and could consider it again closer to the midterm elections, the sources said. But he did cancel a July meeting with a group that specializes in such political organizations.
Mr. Musk was a common face around the White House during the early months of Mr. Trump’s second term as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. It wasn’t until late May that Mr. Musk departed from his role.
He started feuding with the president on social media, attacking Mr. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill as piling on the country’s debt.
“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
He even took a poll on his X page in early July, hours before Mr. Trump signed his bill into law, asking his followers if they “want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system” and support the creation of the America Party.
The poll found that more than half backed the new party, and in the comments, he outlined how it could work.
“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” he said. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”
Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Musk for such a move.
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 6. “He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States — The system seems not designed for them.”
He wrote that Mr. Musk was angry over the bill because of its cuts to electric vehicle mandates. The Tesla boss argued that was never the case.
Since then, it’s been all quiet on the western front, with Mr. Trump wishing Mr. Musk well.
“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!” the president posted last month on Truth Social. “I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way.”
