How much of a future does Elon Musk really have in US politics?
Convinced that his vision for the future of artificial intelligence was superior to that of OpenAI head Sam Altman and former Google chief executive Larry Page, Elon Musk cut ties with Page and parted ways with OpenAI, which he helped found in 2015.
That same decisive belief in himself has famously spilled into politics. After spending nearly US$300 million in Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and working unofficially in the White House for months, Musk clashed publicly with the US president over a spending bill, which he called a '
disgusting abomination '.
In the heat of the dispute, he floated the idea earlier this month of forming a third party to fix what he sees as a broken electoral system.
'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?,' he asked his 230 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns. Around 80 per cent of respondents voted yes.
Musk reacted by sharing a potential name: 'the American Party'.
But does the tech titan really have a future in politics? In a 2023 biography by Walter Isaacson, Musk himself admitted that he had a 'habit of biting off more than I can chew'. His younger brother Kimbal, who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX, both Musk companies, described his sibling as a 'drama magnet'.
A leader in industries capable of determining a nation's future economic success, Musk in the past year seemed determined to inject drama into politics, both in the US and abroad.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US B-2 bombers moving to Guam amid Israel-Iran tensions
The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials said on Saturday, as US President Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel's strikes against Iran. It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions. Speculation about a potential US strike has focused on the B-2s, which would be needed to drop 30,000-pound (1,360kg) GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators – so-called 'bunker busters' – if Trump decided to target Iran's heavily fortified underground uranium enrichment site at Fordow. Israel, which is seeking to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities, does not have such weapons. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to disclose any further details. One official said no forward orders had been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They did not say how many B-2 bombers were being moved. 04:26 Trump says US 'may' or 'may not' strike Iran as Tehran rejects call to surrender Trump says US 'may' or 'may not' strike Iran as Tehran rejects call to surrender The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How much of a future does Elon Musk really have in US politics?
Convinced that his vision for the future of artificial intelligence was superior to that of OpenAI head Sam Altman and former Google chief executive Larry Page, Elon Musk cut ties with Page and parted ways with OpenAI, which he helped found in 2015. That same decisive belief in himself has famously spilled into politics. After spending nearly US$300 million in Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and working unofficially in the White House for months, Musk clashed publicly with the US president over a spending bill, which he called a ' disgusting abomination '. In the heat of the dispute, he floated the idea earlier this month of forming a third party to fix what he sees as a broken electoral system. 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?,' he asked his 230 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns. Around 80 per cent of respondents voted yes. Musk reacted by sharing a potential name: 'the American Party'. But does the tech titan really have a future in politics? In a 2023 biography by Walter Isaacson, Musk himself admitted that he had a 'habit of biting off more than I can chew'. His younger brother Kimbal, who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX, both Musk companies, described his sibling as a 'drama magnet'. A leader in industries capable of determining a nation's future economic success, Musk in the past year seemed determined to inject drama into politics, both in the US and abroad.
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
A truly Asian economic bloc – can Asia succeed where it failed?
'It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good,' to quote a centuries-old proverb. It is one that could be applied now with justification to the ill winds sweeping across the Pacific from US President Donald Trump's America to Asia. These disruptive currents are creating geopolitical turbulence, economic disruption and financial instability. However, the opportunity they present for Asia to challenge the post-war economic order and reshape its own destiny has received less attention. Among the more glaring examples of the United States leaning heavily on Asian leaders to abandon domestic initiatives was its strong opposition to the East Asia Economic Caucus , which was proposed as early as 1990 by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. In 1991, former South Korean prime minister Nam Duck-woo proposed the establishment of a Northeast Asia Development Bank during a lecture in Tianjin. Like Sakakibara's proposed Asian monetary fund, such a development bank would have given East Asia considerably greater control over its own economic development and destiny than the region enjoyed at the time, but it was not in line with the US vision for the Asia-Pacific.
