The dispute between US President Donald Trump and his main campaign financier Elon Musk took another fractious turn on Saturday when the space and automotive billionaire announced the formation of a new political party, saying Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill would bankrupt the US.
A day after asking his followers on his X platform whether a new US political party should be created, Musk declared in a post on Saturday that “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he wrote.
Photo: REUTERS
The announcement came after Trump signed his self-styled “big, beautiful” tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which Musk fiercely opposed.
Musk, who became the world’s richest man thanks to his Tesla and SpaceX firms, spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s re-election and led the US Department of Government Efficiency from the start of the president’s second term.
The first sign of investor dissatisfaction with Musk’s announcement followed later in the day.
Investment firm Azoria Partners would postpone the listing of a Tesla exchange-traded fund, Azoria chief executive officer James Fishback wrote on social media.
Fishback is asking Tesla’s board to clarify Musk’s political ambitions and said the new party undermines the confidence shareholders had that he would be focusing more on the company after leaving government service in May.
Musk previously said that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the bill. Trump earlier this week threatened to cut subsidies that Musk’s companies receive from the federal government.
Republicans have expressed concern that Musk’s on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in next year’s midterm congressional elections.
Asked on X what was the one thing that made him go from loving Trump to attacking him, Musk wrote: “Increasing the deficit from an already insane $2T under [former US president Joe] Biden to $2.5T. This will bankrupt the country.”
There was no immediate comment from Trump or the White House on Musk’s announcement.
The feud with Trump, often described as one between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful, has led to several precipitous falls in Tesla’s share price. The stock soared after Trump’s November re-election and hit a high of more than US$488 in December last year, before losing more than half of its value in April and closing last week at US$315.35.
Despite Musk’s deep pockets, breaking the Republican and Democrat duopoly would be a tall order, as the parties have dominated US politics for more than 160 years, while Trump’s approval ratings in polls in his second term have generally held firm above 40 percent, despite often divisive policies.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS