Written by: Wenser (@wenser 2010)
No one expected that Musk was serious about forming a party!
Just yesterday, Musk cited a previous X platform voting result and stated 'Establish the American Party', with the slogan 'Give the people's freedom back to the people', directly targeting the currently ruling party in the U.S.—the Republican Party; Trump did not hold back either, bluntly calling Musk 'derailed' and 'the act of forming a party is extremely ridiculous'. This is also another escalation of the conflict following the earlier easing of the 'Musk-Trump' situation.
Odaily Planet Daily will briefly summarize Musk's party formation and Trump's attitude towards this matter, while exploring its potential follow-up implications.
Trump signs new law in retaliation, Musk's party formation strikes back
On July 5, Beijing time, President Trump officially signed the 'Big and Beautiful' tax and spending bill, making it effective.
On the afternoon of July 3, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 'Big and Beautiful' bill pushed by President Trump with a vote of 218 in favor and 214 against. The bill has been controversial for causing cuts in federal aid, increasing long-term debt, and reducing taxes for the rich and large corporations. Two Republican representatives voted against it during the vote. The bill was previously passed by the Senate on July 1. This served as the direct trigger for Musk's party formation.
The focus of the conflict: the 'Big and Beautiful' bill has affected Musk's Tesla new energy subsidies.
It is understood that the core content of the 'Big and Beautiful' bill includes tax cuts, spending cuts, and a policy shift, especially regarding spending cuts, which directly affects the 'benefit cake' of Tesla's new energy subsidies.
On one hand, the bill signed by Trump focuses on stimulating consumption, which means permanently extending the tax cuts from Trump's 2017 policy and adding consumer tax incentives; on the other hand, it aims to reduce spending by cutting new energy subsidies and social welfare spending, of which about $500 billion in funding gaps will be achieved through systemic abolition of key incentives such as clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and significant cuts in federal social welfare spending (such as Medicaid, food stamps, etc.).
This also marks a shift in U.S. government economic policy direction, from the previous IRA bill's 'government guidance + industrial investment' model (such as targeted support for new energy and semiconductors) to a 'market-driven + consumption stimulus' model—relying on tax cuts to unleash the vitality of individuals and businesses, with consumption rather than government investment as the core growth engine.
It is important to note that Tesla's position as a leader in the global automotive industry is due to new energy subsidies and carbon emission business. The 'Big and Beautiful' bill essentially cuts off this financial lifeline, and as Tesla's largest shareholder, Musk cannot ignore this.
The story of Musk's party formation: in the name of the people, safeguarding personal interests
On July 4, American Independence Day, Musk initiated another vote on the X platform, asking X platform users 'Should the American Party be created?'
Like Trump, who was dissatisfied with his social media account being banned and created Truth Social, Musk also achieved the results he wanted on his privatized X platform—ultimately, the voting results showed a total of 1,248,856 votes; about 65% of the votes supported party formation; about 35% opposed party formation.
Perhaps a tweet that will be remembered in history
On July 6, Beijing time, Musk posted on the X platform citing a previous voting tweet stating, 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and corruption, we live in a one-party state, not a democracy. Today, the American Party was established to give your freedom back to you.' In response to someone asking why Musk's attitude towards Trump changed from support to criticism, Musk replied: 'The deficit will increase from the already crazy $2 trillion during Biden's presidency to $2.5 trillion. This will bankrupt the country.' His words reveal a strong intent to serve the country and the people.
Thus, in the name of the people, Musk has started his 'interest defense war'.
After the news of Musk's party formation spread, reactions varied widely.
Musk forms a party, with Trump, investment institutions, U.S. Treasury Secretary, and the market all expressing their opinions.
The news of party formation quickly made Tesla the focus of the storm.
Tesla (TSLA.O) saw its shares drop more than 7% in after-hours trading. As of the time of writing, Tesla's stock price was reported at $315.35, with a market capitalization of $988.14 billion; the stock price has dropped nearly 35% compared to its previous high of $488.
Trump subsequently expressed his views: first on social media, he stated: 'I am saddened to see Musk completely 'derailed' over the past five weeks, basically turning into a crashed train. He even wants to establish a third party, although this has never succeeded in the U.S.—this system does not seem designed for them. The third party is best at creating complete destruction and chaos.' He also said, 'When Musk undoubtedly supports me completely, I asked him if he knew I would terminate electric vehicle licensing, and he said he had no objection to this—I'm surprised! Moreover, Musk wants to bring one of his good friends to manage NASA, but I am surprised to find he is a noble-born Democrat who has never donated to Republicans. Musk may be too.' Trump added that it is inappropriate for Musk, who has interests in space, to choose NASA leaders. Then, before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, he told reporters: 'I think establishing a third party is ridiculous. Creating a third party would only increase chaos, he can have fun, but I think it is ridiculous.'
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen also rarely commented on this matter, stating that the board of Musk's company may be dissatisfied with his political activities; and reminded Musk to focus on business rather than politics. Implicitly, as a businessman, Musk should not meddle in politics or attempt to interfere in political affairs. Musk also sarcastically responded to Yellen's previous criticism of his polling on DOGE, stating: 'Treasury Secretary Yellen is a puppet of Soros. He is a political science major who can’t even learn math. A year ago, my polling results were very positive, which is why Trump values me so much.'
On the other hand, the investment company Azoria, which was set to launch the ETF 'Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF' based on Tesla last week, announced on Saturday that it would delay the launch of the fund. It is understood that this ETF was planned to invest in Tesla stocks and options, providing investors with financial products related to the electric vehicle giant. However, Musk's political actions made Azoria feel that the timing was unstable, leading to the decision to postpone the listing plan.
The aftermath of Musk's party formation: the history of third-party failures, the possibility of embracing BTC, and the end of Meme coin speculation
After Musk announced the formation of the party, related topics briefly topped Baidu's hot search, but analysts believe that even someone as wealthy and influential as Musk, who has demonstrated undeniable mobilization ability online with loyal, high-profile, and influential followers, still faces deeply rooted obstacles to establishing a 'third party'.
Records of third-party failures are numerous.
Public reports show that historically, it has been difficult for America's 'third party' to achieve political success.
American businessman Ross Perot received nearly 19% of the popular vote in the 1992 election but failed to win a single electoral vote.
Ralph Nader was labeled a 'spoiler' in the 2000 election.
In the most recent case, the 'Forward Party' founded by Asian American entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang gained attention but struggled to attract followers.
Additionally, according to U.S. law, the establishment of a party qualified to participate in elections requires a complex certification process, including convening a party meeting or representative assembly and electing temporary officials. Although Musk posted yesterday asking, 'When and where should we hold the first convention of the American Party?' today he stated that the circulated federal election commission (FEC) filing documents regarding the new party America Party (AMEP) are false and has reported this to the Federal Election Commission, indicating that the American Party is still at the planning stage.
Will the American Party embrace BTC? Yes.
Although the American Party has not been officially registered, Musk has already set an example regarding the party's attitude toward cryptocurrency.
When community users asked whether the 'American Party' would embrace BTC, it stated: 'Fiat currency has no hope, so of course (it will embrace BTC).' This ignited market enthusiasm for buying BTC.
Musk stated: Embrace BTC, yes!
After PVP, Meme coins are in disarray
After Musk announced the formation of his party, the Meme coin market, which reacted the fastest, also began a series of PVP battles.
According to GMGN website information, a series of upper and lower case names such as AP (American Party initials), AMEP, America, and america have already flooded multiple ecosystems like ETH, SOL, BSC, but after yesterday's crazy speculation, most Meme coins are now in disarray, with market values halved or even more.
AP has the highest market value
Conclusion: There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.
Under Musk's tweet announcing the formation of the 'American Party', a user asked whether his new political party would participate in the 2026 midterm elections or the 2028 presidential election. Musk replied, 'Next year' (i.e., 2026). Although we do not know if this news can be verified in the future, the emergence of the American Party is undoubtedly another example of the escalation of the 'Musk-Trump' conflict.
In the turbulent political and business arena, both Musk and Trump have personally validated a truth: there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.
