The billionaire Elon Musk is quietly pumping the breaks on his plans to start a political party, according to people with knowledge of his plans, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Musk has told allies that he wants to focus his attention on his companies and is reluctant to alienate powerful Republicans by starting a third party that could siphon off GOP voters.
Musk’s posture marks a shift from early last month, when he said he would form what he called the America Party to represent U.S. voters who are unhappy with the two major political parties.
Musk and his associates have told people close to him that he is considering using some of his vast financial resources to back Vance if he decides to run for president in 2028, some of the people said. Musk spent close to $300 million to support Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election.
Musk’s allies said he hasn’t formerly ruled out creating a new party and could change his mind as the midterm elections near.
The Street reported: On August 19, The Wall Street Journal dropped an explosive report claiming that Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and one-time supporter of Donald Trump, is halting his plan of launching a new political party in the U.S.
As per the report, Musk has been in touch with Vice President J.D. Vance in recent weeks and could even back him if Vance decides to run for president in 2028.
Notably, Musk supported Trump — both among the loudest pro-crypto voices in the U.S. — during the 2024 presidential elections and even joined the administration as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) from January to May.
But thinks went downhill between the two once Musk began criticizing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” in the harshest words. The tech billionaire even went on to accuse the president of being named in the controversial Epstein files, though he later walked back the claims.
The Independent reported: Elon Musk is already giving up on plans to launch his own political party to challenge the Republicans and Democrats and is instead considering backing Vice President JD Vance in 2028, according to a report.
After the billionaire was ousted from the Trump administration at the end of May, and a subsequent online feud blew up with President Donald Trump, Musk threatened to launch the new “America Party.”
Now the plans have been shelved and the tech mogul has backed off because of his relationship with Vance, who is considered the frontrunner for the Republican Party in 2028, The Wall Street Journal reports.