Forget fireworks and cookouts: Elon Musk and Sam Altman are spending their Fourth of July sharing their frustrations about US politics.
The rival tech billionaires each celebrated Independence Day with social-media posts in which they vented about the state of the 50 states.
Musk rekindled his idea of starting a new political party called the “America Party” in an X post. This comes after a falling out between the Tesla CEO and his former ally, President Donald Trump.
“Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system!” Musk wrote on X.
Musk’s musings may have been prompted by Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which the billionaire slammed as being full of bloat.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also expressed dissatisfaction with politics, specifically with the Democratic Party. Once a Democratic mega-donor, Altman wrote on X that he’s now “politically homeless.”
Altman’s missive started as a love letter to the US. “I’m not big on identities, but I am extremely proud to be American,” he wrote. “This is true every day, but especially today — I firmly believe this is the greatest country ever on Earth.”
But don’t expect Altman to host fundraisers for Democrats anytime soon. The tech mogul said he’s a believer in “techno-capitalism,” where wealth flows from innovation, entrepreneurship, and education. In his view, the Democratic Party is now out of step with that mission.
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“The Democratic party seemed reasonably aligned with it when I was 20, losing the plot when I was 30, and completely to have moved [sic] somewhere else at this point,” Altman wrote. The billionaire added that “I care much, much more about being American than any political party.”
Altman’s shift may come as anti-billionaire sentiment among Democrats, including New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, is on the rise.
“I’d rather hear from candidates about how they are going to make everyone have the stuff billionaires have instead of how they are going to eliminate billionaires,” Altman wrote.
Musk is also a former self-identifying Democrat who became alienated from the party and eventually threw his support behind Republicans, culminating in his former leadership role in Trump’s DOGE project.
Despite his frustrations, Altman might not join Musk’s America Party, given their squabbles.
But if Altman and Musk do squash their beef, it could be because of this Fourth of July — and it won’t be because they’re grilling.
