How Democrats Should Respond To Musk's 'America Party'
This is Musk's latest PR-stunt. Still, it gives Democrats a messaging opportunity.
Elon Musk would like you to believe he’s disrupting American politics. In truth, he’s doing what he always does: grabbing headlines, stirring chaos, and promising more than he can deliver.
On July 5th, Musk took to Twitter/X — his own social media platform — to declare the formation of the so-called “America Party,” claiming Americans are done with the “uniparty” (as he calls Democrats and Republicans) and ready for something new. Within hours, political media jumped to speculate: Would Musk split the right? Is this the good news Democrats needed? Is it the start of a serious third-party movement?
Musk’s current political theater is a response to losing influence inside the Republican Party he once bankrolled. When Donald Trump signed the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” — a massive federal spending package that slashed electric vehicle subsidies — Musk turned on his former ally. But this isn’t ideological awakening. It’s wounded ego (and a black eye).
And while Trump is now publicly lashing out, Democrats should be cautious about celebrating. Just because Musk is feuding with Trump doesn’t mean he’s on your side or that his latest pet project will serve as an effective electoral spoiler. In fact, Musk funneled nearly $290 million into pro-Trump super PACs during the last election cycle. His views on social safety nets, labor, and climate remain squarely in the far-right, ultra-libertarian camp. The only consistent principle Musk has ever embraced is his own power.
This isn’t a break from the system. It’s a continuation of a decades-long pattern: overpromise, underdeliver, distract.
In 2016, Musk said Teslas would be fully self-driving within a year. In 2019, he promised a million robotaxis by 2020. They didn’t arrive. His Hyperloop? Still vaporware.
Even his philanthropy follows the same script. He promised to fix the water in “every house” in Flint, Michigan, in 2018. He didn’t do it. In 2021, he pledged $6 billion to end world hunger if the UN could offer a plan. They did. He didn’t pay up.
So why are we still giving this man the benefit of the doubt when he tweets out a (hideous) party logo?
Musk understands something vital about modern political media: optics beat outcomes every time. He knows a viral declaration is worth more than a policy plan in the attention economy. And he knows he doesn’t need to build a functioning party — just a narrative that dominates the moment.
Democrats (and, ideally, political journalists…though I’m not holding my breath) should stop mistaking performance for substance. The America Party is not a movement. It is not a threat to Trumpism. And it is not a life raft for the political left. It is a one-man branding exercise by someone who’s been losing altitude in business, culture, and politics — and is desperate trying to own the narrative. Trump humiliated Musk by casting him out of D.C. and passing a bill that is unfavorable to Tesla products and EVs more generally. Musk, a drug-addled narcissist with the self-control of a 5-year-old, is having a temper tantrum right on cue. He knows Trump hates to lose a headline battle (or even a second of media attention) and in launching the America Party in reaction to the rollout of Trump’s BBB, he is trying to get under the president’s notoriously thin skin.
It is as simple as that. A petty battle between billionaires who could not care less about everyday Americans. (Embarrassingly for him, apparently even Mark Cuban wants in on this billionaire brawl.)
There will be no Musk revolution. There will be no credible America Party candidates in November. And when the next tech cycle or Twitter meme war pulls him in a new direction, Musk will forget this stunt the way he’s abandoned so many before it. The rest of us should too.
Still, for as long as this story remains in the media, Democrats should take the opportunity to make a simple argument. Whether it is Democrats vs. Republicans OR Democrats vs. the “America Party” and the Republican Party — the real political realignment of the moment is class based: the billionaires vs. the rest of us. And right now, Democrats are the only ones fighting for the rest of us.