Elon Musk, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and the world's wealthiest person, hinted at the establishment of a third political party, but a negative atmosphere is being sensed in Washington political circles. The response from the political community is that, even if Musk succeeds in founding the party, its influence is unlikely to be significant.
According to The Washington Post (WP) on the 2nd (local time), Musk recently reacted strongly after the passage of a massive tax cut led by President Donald Trump, declaring, "I will establish a third party called 'America Party.'" Musk's plan is to create a party that represents the disillusioned centrist voters in the U.S.
However, his announcement of founding the party was immediately met with skepticism. The main reason is the structural characteristics of American politics, which is entrenched in a two-party system. In U.S. politics, where the Republican Party and the Democratic Party firmly split power, the possibility of a third party exerting influence is observed to be extremely low.
There are not entirely unsuccessful cases, however. For example, Ross Perot, who ran as an independent in the 1992 U.S. presidential election, garnered 18.9% of the votes between Republican President George Bush and Democratic candidate Bill Clinton, earning praise for capturing the attention of American voters tired of the two-party system.
Ralph Nader (Green Party Korea), a civil rights activist, also ran in the 2000 presidential election but only received around 97,000 votes. However, he is cited as having significantly impacted the election results by splitting the votes of the Democratic candidate Al Gore.
However, Perot failed to secure any electors in the electoral college, and Nader was also unable to become a direct rival to candidates from the two parties, lending strength to the opinion that it is nearly impossible for a third party to bring about meaningful change.
Additionally, there are indications that Musk's own political identity is a stumbling block. Once appearing to support the Democratic Party with a progressive inclination, Musk has shown a rapid alignment with the conservative camp in recent years while closely associating with Trump.
In the 2024 election, Musk injected vast amounts of funding to actively support Trump's re-election and invested over $20 million in the Wisconsin Supreme Court judge election that same year, effectively interfering in the candidate's campaign. However, there are predictions that Musk's increasingly unpredictable political moves will not positively resonate with voters.
Within the political realm, widespread evaluations suggest that Musk's presence is minimal. Recently, Musk revealed differences in policies with Trump, publicly supporting Republican Thomas Massie, a figure opposing Trump. However, his declaration that he would "punish all Republican members who betray promises regarding government expenditure cuts" did not elicit any significant response from Congress. Republican leadership even stated, "Musk is not even on the table for discussion," drawing a line regarding his influence.
Musk's political involvement is also backfiring on himself. As a result, the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which Musk acquired, is being shunned by Democratic advertisers, and his political posts on X are accelerating brand departure among Tesla consumers.
Experts believe that it would be more effective for Musk to exert influence as an image of a benefactor with financial and technological power rather than fully entering the political arena.
Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, said, "The more Musk comes forward, the more conservatives show backlash, and progressives are consolidating," advising that "he could achieve greater political success by merely supporting from behind while maintaining the image of a tech entrepreneur."