Elon Musk may have created his own political movement, the ‘America Party’, but one thing is certain that he can never be president of the United States.
On Saturday (July 5), the billionaire tech mogul declared the formation of the party on his platform X, writing, “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
He pointed to an online poll where 65.4% of over a million respondents backed the idea of a new party. “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party, and you shall have it!” Musk said.
Why can Musk never be president?
Musk is constitutionally barred from running for the presidency. According to Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the US Constitution, only a natural-born citizen can hold the office of president. Musk was born in South Africa, making him ineligible, regardless of his long residency in the United States or his status as a US citizen. The clause clearly states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen… shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
Trump: “He’s not going to be president”
Donald Trump has pointed this out himself. In a speech in Phoenix in 2024, Arizona, the former president responded to speculation over Musk’s rising political influence.
“President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk? No, no, that’s not happening,” Trump said. “But no, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you. And I’m safe. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” he added.
Musk: “I don’t want to be president”
Interestingly, Musk agrees. He has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of running for president, not just because of the constitutional hurdle, but also due to a lack of interest in political office. “My grandfather was American, but I was born in Africa, so I cannot be president,” Musk said last year. “But I actually don’t want to be president. I want to build rockets and cars,” he added. “I believe we want to be a spacefaring civilisation, and that’s where my focus will remain,” he said.
Musk’s launch of the America Party comes after a sharp rift with Trump, especially over the president’s massive ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, which Musk has criticised for driving up the national debt. Though he once supported the bill and donated $277 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign, Musk later changed his stance, threatening to create a new party if it passed, and now he’s followed through.
The legislation, now signed into law, includes deep tax cuts, a huge immigration crackdown, and plans for expanded border enforcement. Musk has taken issue with the projected $3.3 trillion debt increase the bill would cause.