All of Elon Musk’s ventures depend on public funding to stay afloat. Back in 2024 and until weeks ago, Musk believed he had bought the Republican Party with $250 million in campaign contributions and secured many more years of EV tax regulatory credits for Tesla, plus a friendly boss at NASA and favorable contracts with the Pentagon.

But he was mistaken. He mistook the United States of America for South Africa. $250 million in the United States is just pennies and not enough to buy anything in politics.

 

In an article published today by WaPo, Maegan Vazquez lists 6 challenges that the new party will have to face to become a significant political force in the United States and break the back of the Republican Party. And let's make this clear from the beginning: money is not one of them.

 

1. Institutional barriers and ballot rules

 

2. Historical headwinds and recent challenges

 

3. Scope and strategy

 

4. Divisions among his potential audience

 

5. Garnering political allies

 

6. Patience

 

You can read more following this link to the WaPo: 6 of the biggest challenges facing Musk’s new political party - The Washington Post

He only needs three or four seats and he will wield all the power. Interesting times.

11 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

He only needs three or four seats and he will wield all the power. Interesting times.

Very good mate - that is exactly his plan - get a few seats - use that 'voting block' to get what he wants.  This has been happening in Australia for decades due to the effed up electoral system.  With very few total votes, the minor Eco/Green Party plus a few nutter Independents have been driving Australia further and further left.  IMO Musk will get a few Republicans but a lot of moderate Democrats - the Party has gone way too far left. 

3 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Very good mate - that is exactly his plan - get a few seats - use that 'voting block' to get what he wants.  This has been happening in Australia for decades due to the effed up electoral system.  With very few total votes, the minor Eco/Green Party plus a few nutter Independents have been driving Australia further and further left.  IMO Musk will get a few Republicans but a lot of moderate Democrats - the Party has gone way too far left. 

Lol, politics all over the world, especially in the USA, has moved a lot to the right. Look at all the crying about 'commie Biden'.

Your statement here shows your position on the right. 

59 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

IMO Musk will get a few Republicans but a lot of moderate Democrats

 

I don’t know how Democrats may be voting for Musk. He is seen as a right-wing extremist, which is not surprising given his white South African upbringing, at the time when apartheid went into crisis.

 

I also don’t see many MAGA supporters voting for Musk. The most hardcore MAGA supporters never liked him and are still furious about his support for the H-1B immigration visa (Steve Bannon, for example).

 

Tesla, however, is one of the most widely held stocks by retail investors and Elon Musk has an almost cult following.

I assume he will take it from there, and from the "Proud Boys", from the "Oath Keepers" and from other neo-nazis groups like them. Those groups are always in search for a messianic leader to kill and die for and Musk fits the bill perfectly.

The America Party, aka The H1B/Abolish Social Security Party. Elon needs to shut up and get back to building rockets.

15 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

 

I don’t know how Democrats may be voting for Musk. He is seen as a right-wing extremist, which is not surprising given his white South African upbringing, at the time when apartheid went into crisis.

 

 

His upbringing was not ideologically conventional. His Grandfather in Canada was a leader in the Technocracy movement, and emigrated to South Africa when it started passing race laws.

 

Musk's father was active in South African politics, and was a member of the Progressive Federal Party, which was the official opposition in Apartheid South Africa, advocating the abolition of Apartheid. It held liberal political positions. Later, he joined the New Republic Party which was more centrist. While Musk's parents divorced, Musk chose to live with his father. Musk's mother was Canadian born, of American descent. Musk's father is of solidly English descent, and not an Afrikaaner.

 

So I would not assume Musk was brought up believing in white supremicist principles.

 

 

15 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

Tesla, however, is one of the most widely held stocks by retail investors and Elon Musk has an almost cult following.

I assume he will take it from there, and from the "Proud Boys", from the "Oath Keepers" and from other neo-nazis groups like them. Those groups are always in search for a messianic leader to kill and die for and Musk fits the bill perfectly.

 

That doesn't really align, considering he might be in talks with Anthony Scaramucci, who is decidedly not afiliated with any of those groups.

 

 

A policy "wonk" fits with Musk's Technocracy beliefs. The Mooch also comes from very working class roots. Interesting, if it amounts to anything.

38 minutes ago, MicroB said:

 

 

His upbringing was not ideologically conventional. His Grandfather in Canada was a leader in the Technocracy movement, and emigrated to South Africa when it started passing race laws.

 

Musk's father was active in South African politics, and was a member of the Progressive Federal Party, which was the official opposition in Apartheid South Africa, advocating the abolition of Apartheid. It held liberal political positions. Later, he joined the New Republic Party which was more centrist. While Musk's parents divorced, Musk chose to live with his father. Musk's mother was Canadian born, of American descent. Musk's father is of solidly English descent, and not an Afrikaaner.

 

So I would not assume Musk was brought up believing in white supremicist principles.

 

 

 

That's going to disappoint those who think that any of the "Proud Boys", "Oath Keepers" and things of that ilk will sign up. But keep in mind, there's a whole slew of "solidly English" English folk who don't really like any dark skinned folk, inluding the ones born there.

Many of Musk's ideas are " out of this world "!

16 hours ago, MicroB said:

 

 

His upbringing was not ideologically conventional. His Grandfather in Canada was a leader in the Technocracy movement, and emigrated to South Africa when it started passing race laws.

 

Musk's father was active in South African politics, and was a member of the Progressive Federal Party, which was the official opposition in Apartheid South Africa, advocating the abolition of Apartheid. It held liberal political positions. Later, he joined the New Republic Party which was more centrist. While Musk's parents divorced, Musk chose to live with his father. Musk's mother was Canadian born, of American descent. Musk's father is of solidly English descent, and not an Afrikaaner.

 

So I would not assume Musk was brought up believing in white supremicist principles.

 

 

Interesting comment!