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 Trump Claims Musk Is ‘Out of Control’ With His Third-Party Initiative

Elon Musk was regularly seen alongside President Trump. After he left his role as a special government employee at the end of May, their relationship has grown cold, and the two men often spar over social media.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

President Trump criticized Elon Musk on Sunday night, labeling him as 'off the rails' after Musk announced his intention to form a new political party amidst a growing divide with the president.

"I am disheartened to see Elon Musk go entirely 'off the rails,' effectively turning into a TRAIN WRECK over the last five weeks," Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday evening. "He even aspires to establish a Third Political Party, despite their historical lack of success in the United States."

Musk's initiative to launch a new political party, named the America Party, marks the latest breakdown in his relationship with Trump. The world's richest man, Musk, invested hundreds of millions of dollars to back Trump's presidential campaign, after which Trump appointed him to a significant role overseeing substantial reductions in government staffing and contracts.

Their strong relationship deteriorated in a public display last month when Mr. Trump advanced his extensive domestic policy bill in Congress. Mr. Musk criticized the legislation, which is expected to increase the federal debt by trillions, calling it a "disgusting abomination." He has expressed his intention to back primary challengers against any Republican who supported the bill, which received nearly unanimous backing from Republicans, yet he has provided limited information regarding his new political party.

Mr. Musk had earlier supported the elimination of electric vehicle tax credits, but he has recently changed his stance as Tesla's sales have declined this year.

Mr. Trump also mentioned that Mr. Musk was outraged when the president withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman, who has launched into orbit twice using a SpaceX vehicle and is a close associate of Mr. Musk, to lead NASA. The nomination was retracted by Mr. Trump after a White House official informed him that Mr. Isaacman had previously contributed to notable Democrats.

Mr. Isaacman met with Mr. Trump during the transition period and revealed the donations prior to his nomination. However, as the relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk began to deteriorate, a White House official brought the donations back into discussion, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Mr. Trump, who has not separated his or his family's business interests from government affairs, provided another explanation on Sunday for the withdrawal of Mr. Isaacman's nomination.

"Supporting a presidential candidate is certainly a possibility, but the primary focus for the upcoming year will be on the House and Senate," Mr. Musk stated on X this past Sunday.

Additionally, Mr. Trump has warned that he may revoke billions in federal contracts and tax incentives for Mr. Musk's businesses.

On Sunday evening, Mr. Trump remarked that Mr. Musk had opposed the legislation due to its removal of the electric vehicle mandate, which would have significantly benefited Tesla, one of Mr. Musk's enterprises.

"I have been campaigning on this issue for two years, and honestly, when Elon provided me with his complete and unwavering endorsement, I inquired if he was aware that I intended to abolish the EV Mandate — it was mentioned in every speech I delivered and in every discussion I participated in," Mr. Trump noted in his post. "He indicated that he had no objections to that — I was quite taken aback!"

“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said on Sunday that the goals of Mr. Musk’s past government cost-cutting effort, through the Department of Government Efficiency, were popular. But the billionaire himself, Mr. Bessent said, was not.

“I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone,” he said on CNN on Sunday. “So I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.”

Maggie Haberman and Theodore Schleifer contributed reporting.

Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration