H-1B Party: South African Elon Musk Launches ‘America Party’ with Indian Treasurer

Elon Musk, a native of South Africa, has formally filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission to launch his “America Party.”

The treasurer and custodian of records for the party is Vaibhav Taneja, an Indian man who has served as Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer since August 2023.

Musk launched the party in response to his public fallout with President Donald Trump over the “One Big Beautiful Bill” tax and spending package, which he fiercely opposed.

The tech billionaire had launched a poll on his X platform, where over 65% of 1.25 million respondents supported creating a new party to challenge the “uniparty” system. The platform does not filter votes by country.

Musk claims the America Party will serve as a centrist force, targeting two or three Senate seats and eight to ten House districts to act as a deciding vote on contentious laws. He claims it will represent the “80% in the middle,” referring to voters who are disillusioned with both Democrats and Republicans. However, specifics on its platform remain vague. He has hinted at themes prioritizing debt reduction, deregulation, and tech innovation — all of which would benefit him.

The day before the filing, Musk wrote, “One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts.”

“Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people,” Musk continued.

The tension between Trump and Musk boiled over in early June when the X owner criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill legislation on his social media platform, prompting the president to fire back by labeling Musk a “big-time drug addict” and hinting at his ketamine use for depression. Trump also threatened to slash billions in federal contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, a move that sent Tesla’s stock plunging 14% in a single day.

Musk retaliated by suggesting Trump’s impeachment, alleging without evidence that Trump’s name appears in unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files, and even threatening to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, though he later backed off.

The party’s registration with the FEC was filed on July 6, 2025, listing its headquarters at 1 Rocket Road, Hawthorne, California, the address of Musk’s SpaceX.

Musk is named as the sole candidate, although, as a South African-born citizen, he is ineligible to run for president.

The announcement was met with swift backlash and mockery on social media. It was nicknamed the “H-1B Party” when Taneja’s involvement was announced.