If Elon Musk is actually going to have his own political party, it doesn’t appear that it will have the endorsement of Dave Portnoy.
On Monday’s episode of his Davey Day Trader stream, the Barstool Sports founder discussed Musk’s announcement that he has formed “the American Party.” And in doing so, Portnoy took a strong stance against the idea of the X owner potentially being in a position of total power.
“I don’t trust Elon Musk,” Portnoy said. “Elon Musk — brilliant, crazy, eccentric mad man. That’s how I would describe Elon Musk. And you got like Mark Cuban’s joining the [American Party]? Mark Cuban? What?… [Musk] is probably the last guy I’d trust with like total power and — again, brilliant. No doubt about that. But I don’t get this American Party. Like this guy, you don’t know what he’s gonna do second to second.”
Portnoy’s mentioning of Cuban comes in reference to the former Dallas Mavericks owner’s public support of Musk’s mission to launch a third major United States political party. In a post on Bluesky, Cuban defended his stance against critics of Musk, primarily pointing toward the Tesla founder’s recent falling out with President Donald Trump, who he has long been a critic of.
But while it’s one thing to oppose Trump, it’s another to support Musk, especially considering some of his behavior (and reported behavior) in the last year alone. To that end, it’s worth noting that Portnoy — who has supported Trump but also opposed some of his actions throughout his second term — has also been a critic of Musk, referring to him as the “co-president” as recently as March.
Still, Portnoy is very much a businessman. And despite his concerns about Musk as a political figure, that didn’t stop him from buying $10 million worth of Tesla stock on Monday after it had dropped following the news of its founder’s political aspirations.
“What do you think I’m talking about? How do you think this started? I’m looking at Tesla,” Portnoy told a viewer who urged him to talk stocks instead of Musk. “It’s down seven-and-a-half percent. I’m debating do I put $10 million into Tesla right now, hope to make 10 percent.”
So what does all of this mean? In the short term, perhaps not much other than that Portnoy’s newly owned Tesla stock is already on an upward trajectory as of Tuesday morning. As for the prospect of Musk actually launching his own political party, it remains to be seen whether his efforts will prove sustainable. But if Portnoy’s own track record as a political influencer is any indication, his opposition could prove to be an obstacle for the world’s richest man.