Musk steps back on plans for new political party, WSJ says

Bengaluru — Billionaire Elon Musk has quietly put the brakes on plans to start his new political party, telling allies he wants to focus on his companies, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the plans.

Musk, without commenting further on the report, said in an X post: “Nothing @WSJ says should ever be thought of as true”.

The world’s richest man unveiled the “America Party” in July after a public dispute with President Donald Trump on the tax cut and spending bill.

He has recently been maintaining ties with US vice-president JD Vance, the newspaper said, and has acknowledged to associates that forming a political party would damage that relationship.

Musk and his associates have told people close to Vance the billionaire is considering using some of his financial resources to back him should he decide to run for president in 2028, the newspaper said.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX spent nearly $300m in 2024 to help Trump and other Republicans get elected, exerting enormous influence in the first few weeks of Trump’s term as head of the newly created efficiency department Doge.

Public feud

Tesla and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

Vance, who had called for a truce after Musk’s public feud with Trump, reaffirmed his position this month and said he had asked Musk to return to the Republican fold.

Tesla shares are down more than 18% this year after it posted its worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade in July and profit that missed Wall Street targets, though its profit margin was better than many had feared.

Musk also warned of “a few rough quarters” after the end of support for electric vehicles by the Trump administration.

Investors are concerned whether he will be able to devote enough time and attention to Tesla after locking horns with Trump over his ambitions for a new political party.

Reuters