Here's what it would take for Elon Musk to launch a third-party effort to represent what he called "the 80% in the middle."

Elon Musk has the money and, at least for the moment, the motivation to steer America's politics away from its two dominant parties. But long-standing obstacles to third parties, as well as Musk's own unique profile,

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.