President Trump dismissed Elon Musk as a "trainwreck" as the former Trump campaign benefactor moves toward starting a third political party.
"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming 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 on Truth Social.
Musk has been ramping up threats to Trump and his political influence as a rift widens over the "Big, Beautiful Bill," which Trump signed into law Friday.
Musk has been taking shots at Trump since early June, accusing him and Republicans of putting the country's financial future at risk with reckless spending.
After apologizing for some unhinged comments linking Trump with Jeffrey Epstein, Musk returned to blasting Trump's policy bill last week and threatened to start a third political party if it passed.
Republicans sent the "Big, Beautiful Bill" to Trump's desk last week, just in time to meet Trump's July 4th deadline. In response, Musk held a poll on social media site X - which he owns - asking if he should start a new party dedicated to fiscal conservatism.
"By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it," Musk posted Saturday. "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."
When asked to comment on Musk's move, Trump was skeptical the "ridiculous" effort would succeed, pointing to the durability of the two-party system.
"I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party," Trump said on Saturday. "We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion."
"It really seems to have been developed for two parties," Trump said. "Third parties have never worked. So, he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous."
While Musk says he's concerned about the cost of Trump's agenda, and what Musk calls a lack of representation for people concerned with the budget, Trump has said the Tesla CEO has a personal motive: the elimination of electric car subsidies.
"It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time. I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
Trump considered running for the White House on the Reform ticket in 2000, but ultimately made history as a candidate for the GOP, winning an upset primary challenge in 2016 and then the presidency.
While Trump continued to face resistance from the GOP establishment during his first term, the situation has changed dramatically since then, with the passage of the "Beautiful Bill" confirming Trump's near total dominance over the party.
