Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that Elon Musk should focus on running his companies instead of politics, a day after the Tesla CEO announced the formation of a new political party in the United States.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Bessent said the boards of Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, would likely prefer that he concentrate on his business responsibilities.
“I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities,” Bessent said.
Musk announced the launch of the “America Party” on Saturday, saying it was a response to President Donald Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill, which Musk claimed would lead to national bankruptcy. The bill, signed into law on Friday, includes tax reductions and increased spending on defense and border security, and passed along party lines in Congress.
The White House did not directly respond to Musk’s announcement but said the legislation demonstrated Trump’s strength as the Republican Party leader. “As the leader of the Republican Party, President Trump has unified and grown the party in a way we’ve never seen,” said spokesperson Harrison Fields.
Musk had previously served as an adviser to Trump early in his presidency, focusing on government restructuring. But the spending bill has caused a public rift between the two, with Trump accusing Musk of being upset over the removal of green-energy credits that benefit Tesla.
The president has also threatened to review federal contracts and subsidies awarded to Tesla and SpaceX.
Bessent said Musk’s earlier government initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was more popular than Musk himself. “The principles of DOGE were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not,” he said.
Investment firm Azoria Partners reacted to Musk’s political move by postponing the launch of its Tesla-linked exchange-traded fund. CEO James Fishback criticized Musk’s announcement and expressed support for Trump, saying the party launch created a conflict with Musk’s duties as Tesla’s CEO.
“I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO,” Fishback said in a statement. “Elon left us with no other choice,” he added.
Stephen Miran, chair of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, defended the new law on ABC’s “This Week,” saying it would boost growth. “The one, big, beautiful bill is going to create growth on turbo charge,” Miran said.
