On July 5, 2025, the world's attention was drawn to the United States by a tweet. The protagonist was Elon Musk, the man on the planet who has the most money and the most news. He made a big move again and announced the establishment of a political party called the "America Party". What does he want to do? Can he accomplish it? What kind of power game is behind this? This matter is worth digging into.
In 2024, Elon Musk is still Trump's most dazzling "financial sponsor" and ally. Through his own political action committee, he spent more than $250 million and made great contributions to Trump's victory. In return, this "engineer" who advocates efficiency and hates waste was appointed by Trump as the head of the newly established "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), ready to show his strength and "cure the poison" for the bloated federal government.
This political honeymoon was short-lived like an illusion. In mid-2025, Trump's signature bill, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," became the last straw that broke the camel's back. In Musk's view, this is not a "beautiful" bill at all, but a "crazy" fiscal disaster full of "waste and corruption." It will not only detonate the US debt bomb, but also cut off the electric vehicle subsidies that are crucial to his Tesla business.
An open war broke out. Musk opened fire on the X platform, bombarding the bill and pointing it directly at the White House. Trump hit back fiercely in his usual style, threatening to review Musk's government contracts and even humiliating the South African-born billionaire by saying "go back home." When Musk used the "Epstein" dirt to hint at Trump on social media, the fight had already slipped from policy differences to ruthless personal attacks.
After feeling "betrayed," this former Trump ally chose the most extreme and Musk-like way - to establish his own mountain and start a new business.
The American Party is not a simple "anti-Trump" venting tool, it attempts to build a unique and attractive political platform.
Musk believes that the biggest problem with the old "operating system" of American politics is that the two-party system has evolved into a "uniparty" that colludes with each other and shares the spoils. On the surface, they quarreled fiercely, but in fact they were all serving the interest groups behind them and competing to empty the treasury. The American Party wants to create a brighter future for all Americans that goes beyond red and blue. It is a Teal movement (Teal, a color between blue and green, often translated as dark cyan or blue-green).
Dark teal logo
theamericaparty.org
Its core can be summarized as:
This is the foundation. The core task is to cut government spending, balance the budget, and stop the endless printing of money. At the same time, it is not a simple miser, but advocates spending money on the right things, such as investing in high-tech fields such as AI and space exploration, and warmly welcomes global technical talent immigration.
This approach is very attractive to those who hope that the government "does not spend money indiscriminately" and believe that "technology changes the world."
On cultural issues, it tries to play the role of an "adult". It is disgusted with the "political correctness" and "cancel culture" of the Democratic left, and is not interested in the religious conservatism of the Republican right on issues such as abortion and LGBT. Its logic is simple: as long as it does not hurt others, the government should not interfere in personal affairs.
This set of "codes" targets the largest and most lost group in American politics - the centrists. Gallup polls show that as many as 58% of Americans believe that the country needs a strong third party, which has a huge public opinion base. Early polls on the American Party also verified this point, with 40% of respondents saying they "might support", which is an extremely high number, far exceeding the initial plate of any new party in history.
According to the American Party's official website (theamericaparty.org), Musk called out the slogan of "Balancing the Budget, Empowering the Future" and listed eight "Key Pillars". These eight items are not only a list of policies, but also his "scalpel" to the American political system.
Fair Economy- The American Party wants to make the economy "fairer for ordinary people", focusing on smart growth, supporting small businesses, and tax reform to reward those who work rather than just relying on wealth to win.
Balanced Budget - This is Musk's "efficiency maniac" nature. The official website says that it will implement "responsible fiscal policies" to ensure that spending is sustainable and investments have returns.
Secure Nation - The American Party does not engage in global police, but advocates "strategic self-reliance" and "selective alliances" to protect the United States with modern national defense. This is in line with Musk's "streamlining" philosophy: instead of spending a lot of money to maintain a bunch of overseas bases, it is better to invest in drones and AI armaments.
Innovation Economy - This is definitely Musk's "home court". The official website calls for "cutting red tape", supporting entrepreneurship, and investing in AI, robotics and space technology, so that the United States will always be the "tech leader".
Future-Ready Society- This is a bit of "black technology". The US party wants to engage in "ability-based immigration" (to attract the world's top talents), promote STEM education (to cultivate technology geeks), and also put forward a bold idea: to prepare for AI to replace jobs and pilot "universal basic income" (UBI).
Free Expression - The American Party wants to create a "Digital Rights Bill" to protect algorithm disclosure, user privacy and heated debate. It is simply a "political declaration" of the X platform. Musk has been scolding traditional media as "filters" and wants to make X a "truth amplifier." This is a shot in the arm for voters who dislike "political correctness", but it may also cause the American Party to be accused of "tolerating extreme speech."
Abundant Energy - Proposes "revenue-neutral carbon tax", next-generation nuclear energy and market-driven clean technology, and opposes bottomless subsidies. This is highly consistent with Musk's Tesla "green empire".
Space Frontier- This is simply Musk's "ultimate dream". The American party wants to invest in rocket technology, lunar logistics and Mars research and development, and develop space mining and orbital industries.
These eight pillars may seem like a policy list at first glance, but a closer look reveals Musk's "rebellion declaration." He wants to use Silicon Valley's logic -- efficiency, innovation, decentralization -- to rewrite the "operating system" of American politics.
In history, there are many "warriors" who challenged the two-party system. Why does Musk think he can succeed? Because he has several resources that can be called "plug-ins", which are beyond the imagination of his predecessors in history.
Musk is worth more than $400 billion. What does this mean? American politics, especially legal battles, are essentially a game of burning money. Both parties will use all legal means to prevent you from printing the names of candidates on the ballot.
Musk can form a "lawyer team" composed of the top lawyers in the United States. He spent $250 million to help Trump in 2024, which may not be as much as the loss of a failed SpaceX rocket launch for him.
The X platform is his private empire. This is a "propaganda department" with 22 million fans that can broadcast 24 hours a day.
He can define the narrative here, portraying the attacks of the two parties as "the last struggle of the old forces"; he can mobilize millions of fans to participate in voting in an instant and create an atmosphere of "people's choice"; he can also bypass all traditional media and talk directly to voters. This ability is absolute power.
In a political arena dominated by a group of old men in their seventies and eighties, Musk, a technology idol who talks about Mars and the future, itself represents a kind of "new hope".
Although his net favorability in the United States is -18, which is very lame, he has a nearly "cult-like" loyalty among a certain group of people. The survey shows that his support rate among Republican voters is still 62%. This means that he has the ability to "draw blood" directly from the Republican Party and establish his initial base. Another poll shows that 47% of voters aged 18-34 have a positive view of the American Party, which is also a dangerous signal - for both parties.
Even with so many plug-ins, Musk is still challenging a system that has been optimized for 150 years and has a super "firewall". This wall is mainly composed of three parts.
This is the most realistic obstacle. Money and fame alone? Not enough.
The threshold for ballot access is staggering: In order for an American Party candidate to qualify for the election in California, 1.1 million valid signatures must be collected; 113,000 are required in Texas; and 45,000 must be collected in just six weeks in New York, covering at least half of the congressional districts. Every signature must be perfect, otherwise it will be immediately and ruthlessly rejected by the "legal workers" sent by the two parties.
This tedious, time-consuming and costly grassroots work to get third-party candidates on the ballot would be difficult for even Musk to complete nationwide deployment before the 2026 midterm elections. The US electoral system sets up an elaborate legal obstacle course for new parties, which is desperately complex - this is one of the key mechanisms that has enabled the long-term stability of the two-party system.
This is a psychological wall. The "winner-takes-all" electoral system in the United States gave rise to the famous "Duvager's Law" in political science - in order not to waste votes, voters will spontaneously give up the third choice and vote for the "less bad" of the two choices.
The most tragic example in history was Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. This famous former president led his "Progressive Party" to win 27% of the popular vote and 88 electoral votes, a brilliant record that even surpassed the incumbent Republican president.
What was the result? He successfully split the Republican vote base and sent Wilson of the Democratic Party to the presidency. His efforts led to the result he least wanted to see. This "Roosevelt Dilemma" will be a huge challenge facing the American Party.
Musk himself is the biggest double-edged sword of the American party - both a powerful asset and a fatal weakness. This contradiction is reflected in three aspects:
First,Constitutional restrictions: As a naturalized citizen born in South Africa, Musk can never run for president of the United States. This not only deprives him of the possibility of striving for the highest power, but more importantly, any voter who supports the American Party knows that the leader they follow cannot be the final decision maker. This limitation of "not being able to play in person" fundamentally weakens the ultimate goal and cohesion of the movement.
Second isBusiness vulnerability: Musk's business empire relies on a large number of government contracts, which makes him extremely vulnerable to political retaliation. Trump has publicly threatened to review SpaceX's government contracts, and this kind of economic coercion is enough to deter any rational businessman. If Musk is forced to choose between "protecting the business" and "building a political party", the result is almost predictable.
Finally, Personality riskMusk's impromptu communication style - seen as a sign of sincerity and innovation in business and technology - can be disastrous on the political stage. His unfiltered, often extreme remarks will scare away the moderate centrist voters that the American party needs most. Politics requires precisely calculated rhetoric, not Musk's "whatever comes to mind" approach.
These three weaknesses are intertwined to form a paradox that is difficult to solve: Musk must remain cutting-edge enough to distinguish himself from traditional politicians, but cannot be too radical lest he lose broad support; he needs to maintain his business empire to provide funding and influence, but faces the risk of these assets being used as blackmail by political opponents.
These seemingly insurmountable difficulties may inspire Musk's innovative thinking - after all, he is not a traditional politician, but a "Silicon Valley geek" who is accustomed to breaking the rules. If the US party wants to make a comeback, it is estimated that it will come up with some new tricks.
Traditional campaigns rely on carpet bombing, TV ads, street flyers, and handing them out to everyone they meet. Musk doesn't play these old-fashioned tricks.
His X platform generates massive amounts of user data every day, recording what you liked, forwarded, and even watched. After these data are fed to AI, super-accurate voter portraits can be generated.
For example, voters in a small town in Ohio may be particularly concerned about employment, so AI can automatically push ads that say "The American Party will focus on investment to create jobs"; the middle class in California may care more about environmental protection, so AI will push the slogan "Support nuclear fusion, zero-carbon future".
This kind of "thousands of people, thousands of faces" propaganda is hundreds of times more efficient than traditional campaigns. In 2024, America PAC used similar technology to help Trump canvass for votes in Pennsylvania, and the results were so good that the Democratic Party called it "cheating." However, AI, a double-edged sword, also has its minefields. Musk's "technological rebellion" may run into ethical and legal red lines. In 2024, Grok on X was jointly asked by election officials in five states to rectify its behavior because it spread the false news that "Harris cannot be a presidential candidate." If the US party uses AI on a large scale, it is estimated that it will attract heavy supervision from Congress and the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Musk may be the person on the planet who understands the power of
Memesthe power ofMusk may be the person on the planet who understands the power of
Cultural Weapons: Traditional politics relies on serious debate and rational persuasion. Meme is a cultural weapon that bypasses your rational brain and directly attacks your emotions and intuition. When Musk used a snake emoji to represent the "Uniparty", he instantly transformed complex political criticism into a visual symbol that everyone can understand, which is more impactful than thousands of words.
Penetrater of information cocoon: It is difficult for traditional advertising to enter those "information cocoons" with firm political positions. But Meme can. You may never click on the propaganda of the opposing camp, but when a friend forwards a "laughing to death" political meme, the information of the American Party has quietly sneaked into your information circle.
The "secret code" of group identity:Specific memes are like the "code" of political tribes. When supporters are using the "DOGE dog" emoji to discuss government efficiency, a strong sense of identity that "we are one of our own" is formed - this kind of cohesion is what traditional political parties dream of.
The American party election is likely to be a "Meme war", using a "leverage" approach to deconstruct the seriousness and authority of traditional politics.
Musk set a relatively pragmatic goal for the 2026 midterm elections: to win
2-3 Senate seats and 8-10 House seats. He cited the tactics of the ancient Greek general Epaminondas - concentrating superior forces to break through at key points.Possible breakthrough points include:
Maine and Alaska : These two states use ranked-choice voting, so third-party candidates don't have to worry about becoming spoilers.
North Carolina: If Republicans nominate an extreme candidate, moderates might consider a third choice.
Current members of Congress defect: Some moderate members of Congress who are dissatisfied with their own party may run for election under the name of the American Party.
History tells us that third parties in the United States rarely survive for long. Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party won 27 percent of the vote in 1912, but it disappeared four years later. Ross Perot got 19 percent of the vote in 1992, and his Reform Party didn’t last either.
But third parties can change the political agenda. Perot made balanced budgets a core issue in the 1990s, and eventually both parties adopted this idea. If the American party can make issues such as government efficiency, space development, and AI preparation mainstream, Musk can claim victory even if he doesn't win the election.
On the whole, this "Musk rebellion" is most likely to lead to the following three outcomes:
text="">The American Party gave up all-out war and focused all its resources on a few key constituencies to create a miracle and win 1-2 Senate seats. Once successful, it will become the "key minority" (Kingmaker) in Congress, with great power to influence the passage of bills. This will be the most glorious moment for a third party in the US Congress since the "Progressive Party" in the 1910s.
This is the most likely scenario. The American Party failed to win seats, but it siphoned 5-10% of the Republican votes in several key states, leading to the Republican defeat. "Pain" is the only driving force for change. In order to win back these voters in the next election, the Republican Party will be forced to "absorb" the agenda of the American Party. The "Decade Absorption Theory" proposed by political scientists believes that this is the most common way for third-party movements to "succeed" in the United States - it is like a bee, which dies after stinging a person, but the "toxin" it injects changes the behavior of the person being stung.
The American Party suffered setbacks in both the legal and public opinion battles, and ultimately received a dismal vote share, hovering between 1-3%. It will become a marginal existence like the current Libertarian Party (the highest vote share of the party's candidates in history is only 3.3%). After burning billions of dollars, Musk found that the political waters were much deeper than he imagined, and finally lost patience and returned to his business empire. The "American Party" has become another case in history textbooks about "how a billionaire challenged the political system and failed."
No matter what the final outcome is, Musk and his "American Party" constitute an extreme stress test of the American political system. The question it raises is far more profound than "who wins and who loses": In an era where wealth, media and technology are highly integrated, where is the limit of the power of a "super individual" to subvert the system? And how strong is the resilience of a century-old political system that is widely regarded as rigid and corrupt to resist and absorb external shocks?
This is not just Musk's war. Behind it are countless American voters who are alienated and tired of the political status quo. The American Party may not succeed, but it is more like a boulder thrown into a deep pool of water.
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