Musk throws JD Vance a lifeline: He’s tapping the brakes on starting a third party
Tech billionaire and onetime DOGE Czar Elon Musk grabbed headlines in July when he announced plans to start a third party to challenge the lock that Democrats and Republicans have on the nation's political system.
But a little more than a month later, the Tesla, X and SpaceX boss has apparently learned that's easier said than done.
According to The Wall Street Journal , Musk is backing off those plans to focus on his business interests and to avoid siphoning votes from Republicans, whose fortunes would most likely be damaged by the emergence of a third party.
As he mulled whether to launch The America Party, Musk also factored in maintaining relations with Vice President JD Vance, who is widely seen as the heir to President Donald Trump, The Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of Musk's plans.
Those same people told The Journal that Musk is considering once again tapping his fortune to boost Vance in the 2028 race for the White House if he decides to run. Musk poured $300 million into Trump's second White House bid in 2024, the newspaper reported.
Still, Musk's allies said he hasn't formally ruled out creating a new party and could change his mind as the midterm elections close in, according to the newspaper.
Even if he does decide to plunge ahead, Musk's third party could face significant hurdles, MassLive previously reported. That includes ballot access laws that vary by state.
And as a native South African, Musk could not seek the presidency.
A spokesperson for Vance meanwhile pointed The Journal to an interview the Ohio Republican did with the conservative website Gateway Pundit.
In that interview, Vance said it would be a mistake to break with Trump and the conservative movement.
"So my hope is that by the time of the midterms, he's kind of come back into the fold," Vance told the website.
The move, according to one analyst, was "utterly predictable."
"Musk popped off on social media in a fit of pique with Trump (and the broader Republican party) following the very public end of his bromance with the president," political analyst Chris Cillizza wrote Wednesday .
"And I am sure he believed it — in the seconds he was typing it. But, Musk, is, at root, a business guy. And people in the business world solve for one thing and one thing only: Money," Cillizza wrote.
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Read the original article on MassLive .
