July 7–8, 2025: The first trading day since Musk’s weekend announcement, Tesla shares tumbled, and Musk’s personal fortune dropped by as much as $15 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of July 9, it stands at $349 billion with Tesla shares broadly unchanged.

Tesla shares fell nearly 8% on Monday after CEO Elon Musk's plans to launch a new U.S. political party reignited concerns about his commitment to the company's future as it struggles with declining sales.

It’s easy for astute political observers to dismiss Musk’s proposed “America Party” as doomed to fail. For decades, political professionals

Whitman thought her wealth could buy the governorship of California in 2010. Of her $1.5 billion net worth that year, she blew $177 million on her campaign. Rival Jerry Brown spent just $36 million and crushed her, 53.8% to 40.9%. Her 4.1 million votes cost $43 per vote. His 5.4 million votes cost just $7 per vote, one-sixth as much.

While Musk was able to pour millions of dollars into pro-Trump super PACs last year, he would not legally be able to bankroll a political party. Third parties generally have to spend a great deal of money to secure ballot access before focusing on getting their candidates elected.

The two men spoke about Mr. Musk’s push to create the America Party before the midterm elections. Mr. Yarvin has expressed support for a monarchy, along with provocative ideas about race.