Tesla’s stock tumbled 7 percent Monday morning after Elon Musk launched a third party and received an icy response from President Trump.
The tech billionaire announced Saturday he officially formed the America Party, a third party meant to challenge Republicans and Democrats, after weeks of floating the idea amid a feud with the president.
Musk launched a page for the America Party on his social platform X after polling his followers about their interest in a third party.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” he wrote. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
The move drew a swift rebuke from Trump, who said he was “saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’” suggesting his onetime ally had become a “TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”
“He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The System seems not designed for them,” Trump wrote in a post Sunday afternoon.
“The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!” he added.
The pair reignited their feud last week, as Congress passed Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill. Musk’s opposition to the bill sparked a massive public blowout between the two last month, shortly after the Tesla CEO left the White House.
The latest tiff between Trump and Musk comes after a tough six months for Tesla, following the tech billionaire’s controversial work on the Department of Government Efficiency.
“Very simply Musk diving deeper into politics and now trying to take on the Beltway establishment is exactly the opposite direction that Tesla investors/shareholders want him to take during this crucial period for the Tesla story,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in note Sunday.
“While the core Musk supporters will back Musk at every turn no matter what, there is broader sense of exhaustion from many Tesla investors that Musk keeps heading down the political track,” he added.
