US: Why is Musk ready to form a political party amid tension with Trump, how big a challenge is this for the Democratic-Republicans?

US President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ has been passed in the Senate. This bill related to increasing government expenditure is also the reason for the deterioration of relations between Trump and the world’s richest man Elon Musk. Musk is openly opposing this bill. Now Elon Musk has said that if the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is passed, then an ‘American Party’ will be formed the very next day.

What is the main reason for Elon Musk’s displeasure with Trump? How much strength is there in his proposal to form a permanent third party like the Republican and Democratic Party in America? Have such efforts been made in America before? How successful were these efforts? Why is it difficult for a party to replace the Democratic and Republican Party? Let’s know…

What is the reason for Elon Musk’s displeasure with Trump?

Elon Musk had spent about 300 million dollars (about two and a half thousand crores rupees) in Trump’s election campaign. The friendship between the two continued even after Trump took the oath of office as President and Musk was given the responsibility of the Department of Government Efficiency along with the responsibility of cutting government expenses. However, when Trump expressed his intention to change many systems in America through the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, Musk opposed it. Critics have also expressed many concerns about it. For example, in this bill, the healthcare plan available to the people is either being weakened or its system is being snatched away from the people. Apart from this, if this bill becomes a law, then due to increased government expenditure on Trump’s new plans, the total debt of America can increase from 37 trillion dollars (about 3172 lakh crore rupees) to 40 trillion dollars by the next decade.

Musk says that if the new bill of the Trump government becomes a law, then the debt on American citizens will increase further and the President’s promise, in which he talked about cutting government expenditure, his purpose will also fail. Trump is preparing to reduce or eliminate government subsidies for clean energy in America by making laws under his plan. Musk is most angry with Trump about this. In fact, Musk’s vehicle company Tesla makes cars and trucks based on clean energy. This company benefits from the clean energy policies of the US government.

How serious is Musk about the proposal to form a new American party?

The proposal to form a new political party in America by Elon Musk is not new. Last month, amid the controversy with Trump, he had conducted a survey through a post on X. In this, 80 percent of the people supported his proposal to form a new party. Musk had then said that this is a sign of people’s disillusionment with the two-party system in America. Musk has said that he will support another candidate in the next election against almost all the Republican leaders who support Trump’s bill. Musk has also started openly supporting some leaders. These include the name of Thomas Massie, MP from Kentucky, America, who has openly opposed Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

Can any party break the dominance of the Republican-Democratic Party in America?

Historically, the Republican Party, popularly known as the Grand Old Party, and the Democratic Party have held power for the longest time in America. Due to this, the political system of America has started being linked to the two party system. However, America has not been a country with a two party system. According to Ballotpedia, a website called the encyclopedia of American elections, by January 2025, there are 55 such parties in America, which have registered their names on the ballot in several states simultaneously. At the same time, there are 238 parties at the state level. At the national level, a party has to register its presence in at least 10 states to get its name registered on the ballot. In this regard, while the names of the Republican and Democratic Party are present on the ballot of all 50 states. At the same time, there are three more such parties, which are considered national level parties.

It is said that the agenda of the Green Party is focused on environmental issues. At the same time, the Libertarian Party, which is the third largest party in America, advocates a lesser role of the government on issues related to citizens and gives importance to interference only on issues related to their security. In addition, the American Taxpayer Party, which changed its name to the Constitution Party in 2000, is seen as a party demanding full compliance with the Constitution.

How has been the history of the third party in America?

In America, the Democrat and Republican parties faced the toughest competition from a third political party in 1992. The situation in America then and now is quite similar. In fact, the Reform Party had nominated Texas billionaire Ross Perot for the post of President. Just as Musk is currently cornering the government over the financial deficit and increasing debt, in a similar way, in 1992, Ross Perot was also pushing his election campaign forward by focusing on the agenda of reducing the federal budget deficit and thereby reducing America’s debt. Perot got 19 percent votes in this presidential election, which was the highest number of popular votes for any third party candidate contesting for the post of President.

Similarly, in the 2004 US presidential election, Ralph Nader contested as an independent candidate. He had earlier been nominated twice for the post of President by the Green Party and in 2000, he got more than 20 lakh votes. The result was that Republican candidate George Bush defeated Democratic candidate Al-Gore in the election and due to the popular vote going towards Nader, the Democratic Party held him responsible for Gore’s defeat. That is, the Green Party had the same role in the US presidential election as the vote-cutter party has in elections in India.

Trump Vs Musk: After the threat of deportation, Elon Musk’s tone changed, said- Trump solved the global conflict well

What are the obstacles in the success of the third party in America?

In America, the Republican Party was once known as a third party. However, in 1960, under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans defeated the two major parties – the Whigs and the Democratic Party. The reason for this was Lincoln’s opposition to slavery. However, since then, Americans have not elected a third party leader as President.

According to Shawn Wilentz, director of the American Studies Program at Princeton University, there is often some issue in elections on which both the major parties avoid talking. However, at such times, a third party emerges only when it raises issues that are related to the common citizen and no one is talking about them.

On the other hand, due to the presence of both the major parties in America, it becomes difficult for any third party to run a campaign. The reason for this is the difficult process of nomination for the post of President. Any person has to collect 15 lakh signatures from the states even to show his presence on the ballot. Since the Republican and Democratic parties have built their support base over many years, this task is easy for their candidates. But it is a difficult task for any third party.

Apart from this, according to the rules of the American electoral system, a third party can be given financial help from the government to contest elections only if it has collected some votes in the previous election. In such a situation, no new party has any hope of financial help from the government. This often leads to presidential candidates either funding their own election or attempting to raise funds from donors, which is a difficult task since most wealthy donors in the United States are associated with the two already established parties.