Elon Musk Steps into Politics: Could He Run for U.S. President?

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the world's richest person, played a major role in Donald Trump's second term in office in 2024. But now he has entered American politics himself. Last Saturday, he announced a new political party called the “America Party.” Musk claims that this party will become the voice of the 80 percent of middle-class voters in America who are neither Republicans nor Democrats. 

According to those close to Elon Musk, his announcement was very natural, because Donald Trump recently passed the "Big Beautiful" law in the US Congress. Musk was against the bill. While Trump was supporting the bill and presenting its merits to opponents, Musk said that if the bill passed, he would announce a new party for the American people. Musk also said that this bill would be disastrous for the American people. According to Musk, this bill would only benefit the rich, not the poor and middle class.  

Meanwhile, the most important question that has been raised since the announcement of Elon Musk's party is whether Elon Musk himself will be able to run for president this time. In this context, it is not easy for anyone to run for president in America. 

According to Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution, a person can only become President of the US if they meet three specific conditions. The first condition is that he must be a natural-born American citizen. The second condition is that he must be at least 35 years old and have lived in America for at least 14 years. 

One of these important conditions is not met in the case of Elon Musk. In fact, Musk is not an American citizen by birth. Musk was born on June 28, 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. He later became a US citizen. But because he is not a “natural born U.S. citizen,” the Constitution does not allow him to run for president. 

Despite his vast wealth and control over technology and business, that provision of the US Constitution has blocked his path to becoming President of the United States. In this situation, Elon Musk will never be able to become the US President unless the Constitution is amended. Meanwhile, such an amendment is extremely difficult. Because it requires a two-thirds majority in both houses and then the approval of 38 out of 50 states.

According to political analysts, Elon Musk is now moving from “kingmaker” to “powerbroker.” He may nominate his candidate in the 2026 midterm elections. He may also nominate an American-born leader for the 2028 presidential election. In addition, he himself may be the head, policy director, or source of funding for that party.