Elon Musk has announced he’s stepping up his political ambitions by launching “The America Party.”
The world’s richest man describes his movement as a protest against the two-party system currently dominating Washington DC.
One area of concern is the national debt, with Musk arguing that Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would cause the U.S. to borrow trillions of dollars it can’t afford.
He’s also claimed that both the Republicans and the Democrats have failed to tackle the issue of ballooning deficits in the past — and it’s time for a change.
Musk’s brash posts on X sparked adoring replies from his loyal followers, with one asking whether The America Party would embrace Bitcoin. He replied:
“Fiat is hopeless, so yes.”
In typical Musk fashion, there was no further detail on what this would look like in practice. Would he push for BTC to become a form of legal tender? Establish a strategic reserve that goes far beyond what Trump has proposed? Accept crypto donations from supporters?
But there’s another burning issue that needs to be addressed: Musk gravitating toward BTC has the potential to do much more harm than good.
Back in 2020 and 2021, when the billionaire was tweeting about Bitcoin and Dogecoin on a regular basis, prices would move dramatically based on his every word. And as we’ve written about before, Musk has also been responsible for huge price crashes after making painful U-turns on policy.
The Tesla CEO announced that Bitcoin would be accepted as a payment method for his electric cars, only to abandon this months later over environmental concerns. Musk’s company was a first mover by snapping up 43,000 BTC to hold in reserve — yet ended up selling more than 75% of this stash soon after.
Musk is erratic and unpredictable — and Bitcoin is volatile enough as it is. It took less than six months for his time at the Department of Government Efficiency to end in disaster. There’s a considerable chance the same would happen with The America Party, and it’s BTC investors who would be left picking up the pieces.
But there’s another hurdle that needs to be discussed: does The America Party have any realistic prospect of gaining a foothold in Congress, let alone the White House?
An Uphill Battle
Musk isn’t the first deep-pocketed billionaire or tech entrepreneur to push for a third party in American politics. Past attempts haven’t gone all that well. While Ross Perot and his Reform Party secured 19% of the popular vote in 1992, he had little to no chance of ever getting the keys to the Oval Office. In 2016, Michael Bloomberg ruled out running for president as an independent because he would have “no chance of winning.”
There are several reasons for this. America is a big country. It takes a huge amount of logistical effort to get a party — let alone one individual campaign — off the ground. As former Republican congressman David Jolly told Reuters:
“It’s more than filing with the Federal Election Commission. It’s really starting 50 state parties. You’re talking about $100 million just to enter the space with real serious intent.”
He went on to estimate that, for The America Party to be successful, it would require at least $1 billion over the next 10 years. Musk can afford that, but this would dash his hopes of mounting a challenge to Trump and the Republicans in 2026 and 2028.
And then there’s the issue of the first-past-the-post electoral system, which the U.K. also uses. This may mean that a politician who receives the most support nationally may not end up winning, because Electoral College votes are tallied up state by state.
There’s another thing worth considering — investors hate the idea of Musk being involved in politics, and would rather he focus on what he’s good at: running X, SpaceX, and Tesla.
Over the past six months, Tesla’s share price has plunged by more than 21%, with the billionaire’s close ties to Donald Trump causing protests outside dealerships. Some analysts have argued that his political ambitions have damaged the company’s brand — and The America Party will only make this situation worse. Others simply argue that Musk is spread too thin right now.
But from a crypto perspective, one thing is crystal clear: Musk needs Bitcoin, more than Bitcoin needs Musk. Thanks to institutional enthusiasm from the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity, BTC no longer needs a few tweets to vault to fresh all-time highs.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are the writer’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Cryptonews.com. This article is meant to provide a broad perspective on its topic and should not be taken as professional advice.
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