Declaration of war on Trump: Elon Musk announces his own party

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is escalating his feud with his former confidant Donald Trump: He wants to establish his own political party in the US. On Platform X, the Tesla boss announced the name: America Party. This puts Musk in maximum opposition to the US president.

Musk wrote that the new party would "give US citizens back their freedom." If the country is driven into bankruptcy by waste and bribery, "we live in a one-party system, not a democracy."

Musk's announcement marks a temporary climax in the feud between Trump and the tech billionaire. No one would have expected it just a few months ago: Musk had supported Trump's election campaign with more than $250 million and was tasked with cutting government costs after his inauguration. The budget cuts and job cuts implemented by the Dogecoin committee sparked fierce criticism and protests.

But then, in early June, a mudslinging match ensued. The two exchanged fierce accusations on social media—everyone could read them. Musk, for example, wrote: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election."

The Tesla CEO, who also has an electric car factory in Brandenburg, left open what role he intends to play in the announced new party. Should he actively participate in politics, Musk could directly position himself as a kind of antagonist.

Unlike in Germany, where coalitions of several parties form the federal government and many parties sit in the Bundestag, in the USA there are the currently governing Republicans under Trump on the one hand and the Democrats on the other.

While other parties exist, the United States is de facto a two-party system. Smaller parties have little chance of major political success. The question is how promising Musk's plans are in this context.

The founder of the space company SpaceX cannot become president himself because he was born in South Africa. However, as the world's richest person with an estimated net worth of around $360 billion, he believes he has the ability to significantly influence the outcome of elections at various levels. Musk threatened weeks ago to support opposing candidates for members of Congress who vote for the Trump bill.

In March, however, the limits of Musk's political power became clear. He threw his weight behind the campaign for a key judgeship in the state of Wisconsin – and the Republican candidate he supported lost significantly.

Musk's hard-right political views make him very unpopular with Democratic Party voters. His break with Trump could also turn a large portion of the Republican political base away from him. Both parties have voters who find Trump's course too right-wing on one side and some of the Democrats' positions too liberal on the other. But Musk has positioned himself so clearly on the right in recent years that he may have a difficult time winning over the center.

After the election, Musk became a close confidant of Trump, who, to the surprise of many, sat at the cabinet table and - with his young son on his shoulders - became a virtual shadow of the president at many events in the White House.

Most recently, however, Musk once again expressed his outrage over the major tax and spending bill signed by Trump on Friday, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill." Among other things, he called for far greater spending cuts and warned that further increases in the national debt would burden future generations.

On Independence Day, Trump celebrated the passed law as a major success—for him, it's a major domestic victory. Trump attributes Musk's opposition to the law to the elimination of electric car subsidies, which will make Teslas less affordable.

Musk had already announced that he would found a new centrist party if the bill passed. On Independence Day, one of the most important holidays for Americans, the tech billionaire, in stark contrast to Trump, launched a poll on X in which he put the party's creation up for vote. Of the approximately 1.25 million participants, a good 65 percent were in favor—not an overwhelming number, given that such polls on Musk's platform are often dominated by his supporters. On Saturday, Musk added: "You want a new political party, and you shall have it."

Musk had already interfered in politics in Germany before the federal election - he had endorsed the AfD.