US President Donald Trump has lashed out at his former cost-cutting czar, Elon Musk, after the world’s wealthiest man said he is launching a political party to challenge the US two-party system. 

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, hours after Musk declared he had formed the “America Party.”

“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,” he added.

Musk’s new party threatens to fracture the Republican vote as he has threatened to target key seats leading up to the midterm elections next year, which would include aiming to unseat some Republicans.

However, while third parties — those other than the Democratic and Republican parties — have seen some success at electing state and local officials, a third party hasn’t won a presidential election since the Republican Party became a major party in 1856.

Musk posted to his X platform on Sunday that he was forming the “America Party.” He had promised to create it if Congress passed Trump’s massive tax and spending bill, which it did on Thursday.

Multiple political parties referencing the America Party, DOGE, or X were filed with the Federal Election Commission after Musk’s post, which listed him as affiliated with the entity. Musk confirmed that at least one of the filings was fake, while some on social media have questioned the legitimacy of others.

Trump and Musk feud over “big beautiful bill”

Musk has taken issue with the spending allowance in the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, calling it a “disgusting abomination,” as it’s estimated to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

Before the bill passed, Musk threatened that he’d look to unseat any lawmakers who supported the bill, saying they would “lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

It’s the latest in the public spat between Musk and Trump that started in late May, just before Musk finished up his special government employee role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, named in homage to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE).

Musk has claimed the bill undermines DOGE’s work to cut government spending.

Trump faithful fears Musk’s party could fracture GOP

Trump’s biggest backers are seemingly worried that Musk’s America Party could cause the Republican vote to splinter in the midterm elections next year, risking the party’s thin majority in Congress.

Third parties rarely threaten the Republicans and Democrats, but Musk has the money to potentially influence next year’s elections if he follows through with his plan.

The US has a first-past-the-post election system, meaning the candidate with the most first-preference votes wins even if they don’t get a majority of the votes.

Some of Trump’s most loyal backers are seemingly concerned that the America Party could win over would-be Republican voters, splitting the party’s base and risking the GOP’s majority or allowing Democrat candidates to win.

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Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer close to Trump, said on X that high-profile Republicans, including Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, could defect to Musk’s new party.

Musk to “laser-focus” on key Congressional seats

Musk posted to X on Friday that his party planned to focus on winning a few key House and Senate seats, which he claimed would be enough to block Republican or Democratic agendas.

“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts.”

“Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people,” he added.

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Russia’s energy ministry has launched a national registry of crypto mining rigs to weed out miners that dodge tax payments and illegal setups that steal power from the grid. 

State-run newspaper RIA Novosti said in a report on Friday that the Russian Ministry of Energy, the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia have “compiled a register” and sent it to “regions with increased miner activity.”

In June, Russian Finance Ministry official Ivan Chebeskov said that despite introducing crypto mining laws, only 30% of miners had entered the Federal Tax Service Register since late 2024. He also said the ministry was working on measures to bring the remaining 70% into the legal fold.

Russia hopes to tax and regulate crypto mining

Deputy Energy Minister Petr Konyushenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti, translated to English by Google, that this is a step toward “legalizing the industry and reducing illegal consumption.”

“The creation of such a register will allow for the precise identification of consumers using electricity for mining needs. This is necessary for applying special regulation and taxation to them.”

Russia’s Energy Ministry first flagged plans to create a national registry of crypto mining rigs and other related hardware in February to help enforce bans on mining in regions where it is prohibited, according to RIA Novosti.

Some Russian regions ban crypto mining

The Russian government began enforcing a crypto mining-related bill in November, introducing legal definitions and registration requirements for mining businesses.

Tesla CEO and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has confirmed that his newly formed political party — the America Party — will accept Bitcoin.

“Fiat is hopeless, so yes,” Musk replied to an X user who asked if his new party would embrace Bitcoin.

Musk’s crypto ties

Elon Musk is no stranger to Bitcoin as Tesla was an early adopter, holding BTC in its treasury.

Under his leadership as Tesla CEO, Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of BTC in early 2021, making it one of the first publicly traded companies to hold Bitcoin in its treasury reserves.

Currently, Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, worth approximately $1.26 billion, with the EV maker being the ninth-largest publicly traded company to hold Bitcoin in its treasury, according to Bitbo.

The Tesla CEO has also supported Dogecoin over the years, which has caused the price of the memecoin to either rally or crash after his tweets.

Jan3 founder Samson Mow said embracing Bitcoin could give Musk an edge over Trump in their ongoing feud.

Mow stated that Tesla should once again start accepting Bitcoin as payment and that Musk’s SpaceX should give discounts to those who pay in Bitcoin.

In 2024, Musk rejected the idea of using the Bitcoin network as a form of payment on Mars. However, Musk later entertained the idea, saying that a localized Lightning Network could solve the issue of slow transactions.

Musk has not always been pro-Bitcoin. In 2021, he claimed that the price of Bitcoin was “too high,” which led to BTC dropping in price.

Musk’s feud with Trump

Musk’s relationship with Donald Trump has deteriorated over Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” with Musk previously calling it “utterly insane and destructive” and arguing that it will erode millions of jobs in the US and cause “immense strategic harm” to the country.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is estimated to add $3.3 trillion to the US national debt over the next decade.

Musk questioned Trump’s rationale for creating the DOGE, an initiative that aims at reducing the US national debt, if he was going to increase the national debt by trillions of dollars.

He later hinted that the US needs a new political party that “actually cares about the people.”

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On Sunday, Musk announced that he would be creating the America Party after more than 1.24 million people voted on his poll over whether he should create the party, with nearly two-thirds of voters voting in favor of the new party. 

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk added.

US President Donald Trump has since lashed out at Musk for creating a third political party. Trump said that Musk’s new party could fracture the Republican vote at the 2026 US midterm elections.

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