While Republicans are largely dismissing billionaire Elon Musk’s pledge to create an “America Party” for now, he could pose headaches for the GOP in the midterms if he sticks with building a new third party.

There are big questions about the lasting influence of the billionaire’s latest whim, though — and plenty of skeptics of the America Party gaining any staying power or meaningful influence, with President Trump among them.

What’s the platform? Will anyone support it? And could it spoil GOP candidates in the midterms?

For the sake of analysis, I’m assuming that Musk — who only got heavily involved in national electoral politics last year — will actually go through with forming a new party. (It hasn’t formally been created yet; Musk said a screenshot of one Federal Election Commission filing that circulated over the weekend is inauthentic.)

What’s the America Party's platform?

Musk’s zealous opposition to rising national debt is one factor fueling his idea for a third party. And even in the last few days, Musk has responded approvingly on the social platform X, which he owns, to content from and about libertarian-leaning politicians such as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Argentinian President Javier Milei, and he's reposted pro-libertarian content.

Could there be, then, a coalition formed with the existing Libertarian Party?

“We would definitely be open to talking to the America Party about a coalition, because we do have ballot access in the most states,” Libertarian Party National Committee Chair Steven Nekhaila told me — adding that many libertarians are disappointed in Trump despite supporting him in 2024.

Aside from Musk’s desire to resolve the national debt, here is what we can glean about the America Party's platform based on Musk’s posts: It would embrace Bitcoin. It would support gun rights, with Musk saying “the Second Amendment is sacred.” Musk shared a post saying it would support free speech, support tech innovation, lessen energy regulation and support “pronatalist” policies aimed at increasing the birth rate.

But Musk has also indicated the party might be more centrist, saying the “America Party is the solution” in response to a post arguing centrism is now considered radical.

And if candidates are in support of green energy tax incentives — such as the kind Musk opposed the rollback of in the “big, beautiful bill” — that could conflict with the Libertarian Party’s principles.

Who will support it?

There has long been broad support for a third major party, reaching a high of 63 percent support in a 2023 Gallup survey before dipping back to 58 percent in 2024.

But it’s not clear the ideas being pushed by Musk could capture that broad group.

CNN’s Harry Enten calculated that voters who like Musk and dislike the GOP add up to a whopping........

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