‘A billion people backing you’: China transfixed as Musk turns against Trump

Few break-ups have as many gossiping observers as the fallout between the once inseparable Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

The ill-fated bromance between the US president and the world’s richest man, which once raised questions about American oligarchy, is now being pored over by social media users in China, many of whom are Team Musk.

The latest drama comes from Musk’s pledge to found a new political party, the America party, if Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, which Musk described as “insane” passed the Senate this week (it did). Musk had already vowed to unseat lawmakers who backed Trump’s flagship piece of legislation, which is expected to increase US national debt by $3.3tn.

On Wednesday, hours after the bill passed the US Senate, the hashtag #MuskWantsToBuildAnAmericaParty went viral on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform similar to Musk’s X, receiving more than 37m views.

“If Elon Musk were to found a political party, his tech-driven mindset could inject fresh energy into politics. The potential for change is significant – and worth watching,” wrote one Weibo user.

“When you’ve had enough, there’s no need to keep putting up with it,” wrote another.

One comment summed up the mood on the platform: “Brother Musk, you’ve got over a billion people on our side backing you.”

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is widely venerated in China for his business acumen and technological achievements. Tesla’s electric vehicles are the only western brand on Chinese roads that can rival domestic firms, and the company’s biggest factory by volume is in Shanghai. Musk is known to have a close relationship with China’s premier, Li Qiang, while Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, is a social media celebrity in her own right in China.

Musk’s popularity in China follows a well-established trend of Chinese audiences enthusiastically embracing US tech innovators. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs was a bestseller in China, as was his biography of Musk.

Trump, however, is seen by many as being an unpredictable funnyman who has launched the most aggressive trade war on China in recent history.

Some internet users commented that Trump and Musk should grow up. “These two grown men argue nonstop over the smallest things – and the whole world ends up knowing about it,” wrote one user, while another joked: “Every day, Musk is basically live-streaming ‘How Billionaires Argue’”.

The conversation has been allowed to flourish on China’s tightly controlled social media, suggesting that at least some censors are betting that the US political chaos could be no bad thing for China.

Additional research by Lillian Yang