South Africans Laugh As Elon Musk Announces a Political Party

• South Africans roasted billionaire Elon Musk after he announced the formation of a new political party
• Musk, who moved to the United States decades ago and built his tech empire, announced his new political movement
• He experienced his first taste of politics when he was appointed to Donald Trump's government, and netizens were not convinced

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, Parliamentary Proceedings, and politician-related news, as well as elections, at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

UNITED STATES — Netizens berated and made fun of billionaire Elon Musk's decision to form a political party in the United States of America.

Elon Musk forms a new political party

Musk announced the formation of the America Party, a party that he believes will challenge what he called the United States' two-party system. Musk said the party was formed to give Americans back their freedom. The tech giant posted a poll on his X account on 4 July, asking X users if they wanted to be independent of the United States' party system.

Musk's fallout with Trump

Musk fell out of favour with American President Donald Trump after he removed him from his position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This was after Trump pushed for the Big Beautiful Bill, which would increase spending for border security, energy, and defense production. The Bill would also make some tax cuts permanent.

Musk opposed the bill, particularly because DOGE was established to slash government spending. Musk vowed to launch the party to challenge Republicans who campaigned for government spending to be slashed, only for them to support the Big Beautiful Bill.

What you need to know about Trump and Musk

• Musk and Trump's political love affair ended after Trump's newly signed bill threatened Musk's SpaceX contracts
• Trump refused to reconcile with Elon Musk as Tesla shares plummeted over the fallout
• South Africans were entertained by what many considered a messy breakup between Musk and Trump
• Radio personality Anele Mdoda threw shade at Elon Musk after he apologised to Donald Trump
• Radio presenter Warras welcomed Elon Musk's intention to pledge R500 million to assist South African schools with free Starlink broadband

Netizens roast Musk

South Africans on Facebook made jokes about Musk's political party, and some slammed him.

Tshepz Motsumi said:

"He must name it the American National Congress."

Dandala B Jerome said:

"Once a South African, always a South African."

Busi Shongwe said:

"I guess robots and aliens are going to vote for him."

Simbarahse Victor Mkwachari said:

"Let's just say he has created another MK Party."

BabesParker Liebenberg said:

"Learned from SA. When things don't go your way, then you start your party."

Alec Tsima said:

"Here's the thing: forming a third party will hand power straight back to the Democrats."

Donald Trump considers deporting Elon Musk

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of deporting Musk. He spoke on 1 July as tensions between Musk and Trump escalated.

Trump was asked if he would deport Elon Musk. He responded that he would look into the possibility.

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News