WASHINGTON, Jul 7 :US President Donald Trump has slammed former close ally Elon Musk on the multi-billionaire’s plan to launch a new political party.
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday. “He (Musk) even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States.”
“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party,” said Trump, speaking to reporters on Sunday before boarding Air Force One. “It’s always been a two-party system and I think starting a third party just adds to the confusion.”
Musk announced the launching of a new political party called the “America Party” on his social media platform X on Saturday.
The entrepreneur called the formation of the party a direct response to a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people.
The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll on X, where Musk asked whether voters wanted independence from what he called the “two-party (some would say uniparty) system.
Over 1.2 million votes were cast, with 65.4% saying “yes.”
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” Musk posted Saturday. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Trump and Musk were formerly close allies, with the Tesla boss leading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which is tasked with helping to cut federal spending.
Musk has repeatedly criticized government policies that increase the US national debt.
On Sunday, he said that while the new party may back a presidential candidate at some point “the focus for the next 12 months is on the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
Trump also took aim at Musk’s push for an “Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate”, saying it would have “forced everyone to buy an electric car in a short period of time.”
The president’s tax cut and spending plan, which he signed into law on 4 July, ended tax breaks for electric vehicles.
He added that he had opposed Musk’s proposal for an EV mandate from the beginning, explaining the reasons for omitting such vehicles in the legislation.
“People are now allowed to buy whatever they want – Gasoline Powered, Hybrids (which are doing very well), or New Technologies as they come about – No more EV Mandate.”
The legislation includes increased spending for border security, defence and energy production, offset by controversial cuts to healthcare and food-support programmes.
Musk floated the idea of a new political party online during his public spat with Trump as he repeatedly criticized his spending plans.
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