Voters Want Third Party Option, But 77% Say 'Not So Much' To Elon Musk, While Trump Approval At 44%

A new voter poll shows that people want third-party options as President Donald Trump's approval rating continues to be below 50%. While Elon Musk could be launching a third party, voters are saying no thanks to one from the world's richest man.

What Happened: Shareholders of Tesla Inc TSLA may love hearing that voters might not be interested in a third party launch by CEO Musk.

After all, the promised launch of the America Party by Musk could see the CEO spend more time in politics and less time leading the electric vehicle giant.

A Quinnipiac poll finds that voters aren't impressed with Musk's option.

Quinnipiac recently asked voters if they would consider joining a third party as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties.

A near majority (49%) said yes they would consider, while 45% said they would not consider. The remainder said they didn't know. Men and women were equally divided in the poll with 49% of men saying yes and 45% saying no and the same result reported for women.

Broken down by political party, here were the results of considering joining a third party:

Republicans: 28% yes, 67% no
Democrats: 39% yes, 56% no
Independents: 75% yes, 21% no

While voters want a third party option, it appears they aren't happy with the option of one coming from Musk. When asked if they would consider joining a third party if created by Musk, the result significantly changed.

The results were 17% yes and 77% no, broken down as follows by political party and gender:

Republican: 18% yes, 74% no
Democrat: 6% yes, 90% no
Independent: 22% yes, 73% no
Men: 20% yes, 73% no
Women: 14% yes, 73% no

"There is a healthy appetite for a third party among American voters. But with Elon Musk leading the way, not so much," Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said.

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Why It's Important: The Quinnipiac poll found that only 44% of voters approve of President Trump with 54% disapproving. This result was similar to a poll in late June from Quinnipiac.

One of the items that might be impacting the approval rating is the Jeffrey Epstein files. Sixty-three percent of voters in the poll said they disapprove of the Trump administration's handling of the files.

Trump also received approval ratings of under 50% across many issues, including the economy (42%), foreign policy (41%), trade (40%), and the Russia-Ukraine war (34%).

A third-party option could gain steam among voters for the first time in years based on the current results of polls and overall sentiment from voters. The problem is that this poll shows voters don't want Musk involved.

Prediction market Polymarket shows odds of 44% that Musk will register the America Party by the end of 2025.

Benzinga recently asked readers if this should be Musk’s focus going forward.

“Elon Musk is wading deeper into politics. Should he stay focused on Tesla and SpaceX — or keep speaking out?” Benzinga asked

The results were:

Stay focused on his companies: 74%
Do both – he can multitask: 21%
Keep speaking out: 5%

A large majority of readers polled said Musk should stay focused on his companies. Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and is also involved with several other companies, including Neuralink and X. With the recent announcement that X CEO Linda Yaccarino is stepping down, Musk's time commitment to the social media platform may increase.