The growing rift between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump turned into a gulf on July 5 when Musk announced the independent America Party, supposedly focused on Bitcoin and centrist policies.
The move was catalyzed by Congress passing the Trump administration’s controversial One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to Musk, the bill flies in the face of the administration’s initial efforts to cut government spending.
The America Party has yet to hold a formative congress or issue a specific platform. Little is known about the party’s stance, beyond Musk’s vague comments of a preference for centrism, deregulation, reduction of government spending and support for Bitcoin (BTC).
But what hopes does the Tesla founder have of breaking the two-party system?
What does Musk’s America Party want, and is it really pro-Bitcoin?
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” introduced several controversial economic shifts. Namely, it raised the federal debt ceiling — the amount of money the government is allowed to borrow — by $5 trillion. It also gave several tax breaks that would primarily benefit the 1%.
The bill proposed to cover the cost of this lost revenue and increased borrowing by slashing social support programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid and increasing tariffs on foreign goods. It also cut back on electric vehicle and renewable energy investment and benefits.
Related: Bitcoin to benefit from Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ analysts predict
But critics, including Musk, were not convinced. The tech CEO decided it was time to start his own political party.
Musk’s America Party announcement made waves and even elicited comment from Trump, who said, “I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party […] it’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion.”
But there are still scant details about what the party stands for. Insofar as whether the party will support Bitcoin, Musk stated:
Beyond crypto, Musk claims the party will stand for centrist values and reduced government spending. But these claims are just as vague as his promise about Bitcoin.
Musk has reposted suggestions about what the potential party platform could look like from the Tesla fan group Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. The “platform” included the aforementioned goal of reducing debt while simultaneously overhauling the military to be more high-tech and include AI and robots.
It also suggested deregulating the energy sector, promoting free speech and supporting “pro-natalism,” a political movement focusing on low global birth rates.
As of publishing time, there is still no official entity or website. Musk has asked followers on X where the first America Party Congress should take place.
Third parties aren’t very successful
While Musk may be a self-identified pioneer in space exploration, he is not the first to think of making a third party in American politics.
Many third parties have existed throughout American history, from the Populist Party in the late 19th century to the Progressive Party of the early 20th century. There was also an American Party (not to be confused with Musk’s America Party), which saw segregationist George Wallace win five states in the 1968 presidential elections but failed overall.
More recently, American businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang tried to break the political duopoly with his centrist and pro-crypto Forward Party. Yang had floated the idea of using crypto as a way of distributing a universal basic income.
No party has been able to widen the two-party system, and observers are not optimistic that Musk will be any more successful.
Related: Has Bitcoin been captured by politics and institutions?
Collin Anderson, clinical assistant professor of political science at the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, said, “It would be extremely unlikely for a new major party to form. The structure of the U.S. political system tends towards two major effective parties, and the structure would need to be changed in order to give more parties a real chance.”
Anderson said that one of the major parties would essentially have to collapse for a third party to make any gains — which is not an impossible outcome if Trump leaves politics with no heir-apparent to continue the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement within the Republican Party.
“Once Trump is out of politics it becomes much more likely that the MAGA/Republican base will fracture. That’s when Musk can make his move,” said Anderson.
Bloomberg Opinion columnist Francis Wilkinson said that Musk’s proposed strategy of focusing on a few vulnerable House and Senate districts could potentially work out in the short term, but “unless you’re changing the structure of American elections […] and the chemistry and the strategic motivations of both voters and candidates in these districts, you’re not really going to have an impact.”
Even if the America Party is unsuccessful in the long run, Musk has the potential to create major headaches for the Republican Party. Wilkinson said:
“He has the capacity to be a chaos monkey.”
Musk has “enormous fame, and he’s got a microphone whenever he wants one, [and] he has still staggering amounts of money.”
Politics are bad for Musk’s business, and he isn’t that good at politics
Tesla owners in Silicon Valley may be excited about the prospect of a Musk-led third party, but the CEO’s business partners aren’t.
James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, has decided to delay the listing of the Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF following Musk’s announcement, which “creates a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO of Tesla. It diverts his focus and energy away from Tesla’s employees and shareholders.”
“A political party not only fails to complement Tesla’s mission — it actively undermines it,” he said.
Tesla shares also tumbled on the news of Musk’s political ambitions. The stock has already suffered major losses over the last year as Musk became more politically involved and Tesla vehicles became synonymous with support for the Trump administration.
Furthermore, Musk has failed to prove his political efficacy in the past. While a major donor to the Republican Party, his more direct involvement in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race in March 2025 did not go as well.
During the election, the Trump administration used Musk to campaign for its preferred candidate, Brad Schimel. In speeches to the public, Musk wore a cheese hat and called the election “a super big deal.” He gave away $1-million checks to two Wisconsin voters, which raised eyebrows even among some Republican observers, and is now targeted in a lawsuit.
But none of it worked. In fact, Democratic candidate Susan Crawford won the election by a handy 10%.
Whether Musk wins or loses, Bitcoin will continue to thrive, said Nic Puckrin, crypto analyst, investor and founder of The Coin Bureau. “The only way is down for the US dollar, and Bitcoin prices will always move in the opposite direction.”
Still, if Musk aims to take on the structure of the American political system and the Grand Old Party, he will need more than posts about Bitcoin to carry the America Party to victory.
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