On this week’s episode, David Papadopoulos invites Bloomberg political reporter Nancy Cook and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Max Chafkin to the studio to discuss Elon Musk’s latest idea—the creation of the “America Party.” Third parties have famously been losing propositions in American politics, and Cook questions if the distractible multibillionaire even has the patience to handle the paperwork required to register with the Federal Election Commission.

And then there’s his constant string of controversies. Chafkin wonders if there’s a reliable base out there hungry to support the party of a man who called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, initiated a feud with President Donald Trump (still popular with much of Musk’s theoretical rank and file) and whose “DOGE” initiative on Trump’s behalf is accused by some of worsening the catastrophic consequences of the recent flooding in Texas.

Nevertheless, history shows just how disruptive third parties can be when the margins are slim, as they are now. Cook sees a small slice of the electorate, “tech bros who are like, ‘oh, right, we should cut Social Security, we should shrink the federal government’,” who could possibly be converted by the right wing business mogul.

Later in the show, Papadopoulos and Chafkin are joined by Bloomberg stocks reporter Esha Dey to discuss the latest gyrations of the world’s most prominent meme stock, Tesla. The trio discuss the challengesfacing the electric car company and dissect a recent eyebrow-raising note from analyst Dan Ives. The prominent Tesla bull presents a simple answer to Tesla’s woes: give Elon more money.

On this week&rsquo;s episode, David Papadopoulos invites Bloomberg political reporter Nancy Cook and Bloomberg Businessweek&rsquo;s Max Chafkin to the studio to discuss&nbsp;Elon Musk&rsquo;s latest idea&mdash;the creation of the &ldquo;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1941584569523732930" data-cke-saved-href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1941584569523732930">America Party</a>.&rdquo; Third parties have famously been losing propositions in American politics, and Cook questions if the distractible multibillionaire even has the patience to handle the paperwork required to register with the Federal Election Commission.
And then there&rsquo;s his constant string of controversies. Chafkin wonders if there&rsquo;s a reliable base out there hungry to support the party of a man who called Social Security a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/02/elon-musk-joe-rogan-social-security-ponzi-scheme/81060392007/" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/02/elon-musk-joe-rogan-social-security-ponzi-scheme/81060392007/">Ponzi scheme</a>, initiated a feud with President Donald Trump (still popular with much of Musk&rsquo;s theoretical rank and file) and whose &ldquo;DOGE&rdquo; initiative on Trump&rsquo;s behalf is accused by some of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/doge-cuts-texas-floods-noaa-vacancy-2096151" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/doge-cuts-texas-floods-noaa-vacancy-2096151">worsening</a> the catastrophic consequences of the recent flooding&nbsp;in Texas.
Nevertheless, history shows just <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/william-h-taft-recalls-dispute-theodore-roosevelt-1922" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/william-h-taft-recalls-dispute-theodore-roosevelt-1922">how disruptive</a> third parties can be when the margins are slim, as they are now. Cook sees a small slice of the electorate, &ldquo;tech bros who are like, &lsquo;oh, right, we should cut Social Security, we should shrink the federal government&rsquo;,&rdquo; who could possibly be converted by&nbsp;the right wing business mogul.
Later in the show, Papadopoulos and Chafkin are joined by Bloomberg stocks reporter Esha Dey to discuss the latest gyrations of&nbsp;the world&rsquo;s most prominent meme stock, Tesla. The trio discuss the <a href="bbg://news/stories/SYDOZET0G1KW" data-web-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-24/podcast-robotaxi-s-underwhelming-texas-rollout?srnd=elon-inc-podcast" data-cke-saved-href="bbg://news/stories/SYDOZET0G1KW">challenges</a> <a href="bbg://news/stories/SYH4SPT1UM0W" data-web-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-26/musk-confidant-afshar-exits-tesla-in-latest-high-level-departure" data-cke-saved-href="bbg://news/stories/SYH4SPT1UM0W">facing</a> the <a href="bbg://news/stories/SYRUXTDWLU69" data-web-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-04/is-tesla-in-trouble-musk-is-betting-on-robotaxi-future-as-tsla-sales-fall" data-cke-saved-href="bbg://news/stories/SYRUXTDWLU69">electric car company</a> and dissect a recent <a href="https://fortune.com/2025/07/08/tesla-musk-political-limits-dan-ives-three-steps-board/" data-cke-saved-href="https://fortune.com/2025/07/08/tesla-musk-political-limits-dan-ives-three-steps-board/">eyebrow-raising note</a> from analyst&nbsp;Dan Ives. The prominent Tesla bull presents a simple&nbsp;answer to Tesla&rsquo;s woes: <a href="https://x.com/DivesTech/status/1942537554387165494" data-cke-saved-href="https://x.com/DivesTech/status/1942537554387165494">give Elon more money</a>.

Elon Musk’s sprawling business empire has granted the billionaire a degree of power and global influence that transcends the industries he’s reshaped. He is the leader of no fewer than six hugely influential companies, spanning electric vehicles to wartime communications, and their innovations could shape the fates of nations. 

Musk is polarizing, confounding and inescapable. And he is the biggest business story of our time. 

Each week, listen in as host David Papadopoulos convenes a panel of Bloomberg Businessweek journalists who are tracking Musk’s companies and the surprising ways they intersect. They break down the business mogul's latest moves and analyze what they could mean for us all.

Elon Musk’s sprawling business empire has granted the billionaire a degree of power and global influence that transcends the industries he’s reshaped. He is the leader of no fewer than six hugely influential companies, spanning electric vehicles to wartime communications, and their innovations could shape the fates of nations. 
Musk is polarizing, confounding and inescapable. And he is the biggest business story of our time. 
Each week, listen in as host David Papadopoulos convenes a panel of Bloomberg Businessweek journalists who are tracking Musk’s companies and the surprising ways they intersect. They break down the business mogul's latest moves and analyze what they could mean for us all.

Elon, Inc.

Can Elon’s ‘America Party’ Dream Come True?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1de7555b-902c-4ee8-b519-b314014c6874/transcript

Advertisement