Elon Musk announced that he is creating his own party in the US to give back freedom to Americans. Until recently, he was part of the Trump administration. But recently he has been sharply criticizing the president.
The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, has announced the creation of his own political party. "Today, the "America" party is being formed to give you back your freedom," the tech entrepreneur wrote on his social network X.
The former advisor to President Donald Trump, with whom Musk is in confrontation, also wrote: "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and corruption, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy".
In his post, he did not clarify what role he wants to play in the new party. Since Elon Musk was born in South Africa, he cannot become president. However, as the richest person in the world, whose fortune is estimated at about $ 360 billion, he sees himself in a position to significantly influence the results of elections at various levels.
Musk and Trump: from friends to enemies
Musk supported Donald Trump's election campaign with over $ 250 million. He was given a special task in the Trump administration - to reduce spending in the state apparatus after he took office. The budget cuts and job cuts implemented by his commission, called DOGE, were met with sharp criticism. Recently, however, Musk has repeatedly criticized the policies of the American president. In the dispute over Trump's tax law, called the "Big Beautiful Act", Musk came into confrontation with the president, and subsequently the two attacked each other with threats and criticism. Now, Musk's announcement of the founding of a new party is likely to mark the culmination of this debate.
Can Musk's party succeed in the US?
Unlike Germany, where coalitions of several parties form the federal government and many parties sit in the Bundestag, the US has a de facto two-party system, although in reality there are other parties: on one side are Trump's current ruling Republicans, and on the other - the Democrats. Smaller parties in America have little chance of achieving significant political success.
The question now is whether Musk will be able to change this. He is very unpopular among Democratic voters due to his hard-right political views. Because of the confrontation with Trump, a large part of the Republican political base may now turn its back on him as well.
The fact is that among Republican voters there are those who consider Trump's course too extreme, and among Democrats there are those for whom some of the Democrats' positions are too liberal. However, in recent years, Musk has positioned himself so clearly to the right that he will probably have a hard time winning the trust of centrists.