Elon Musk is threatening to create and finance a third party. In essence, he is proposing to lead the CL faction out of the GOP. There would be plenty of open ideological space for his movement: free trade; entitlement cuts; deregulation; large subsidies for scientific research and emerging technologies, including clean energy; and changes to the immigration system favoring the wealthy and talented. Unlike the GOP, it would focus on creating an economy for the future, not the past. Could it work?
A few observations are pertinent here. First of all, there are very few living and breathing CL voters out there, so any attempt to create a mass movement would undoubtedly fail, no matter how well it was financed, in the absence of a genuine national emergency calling for immediate and drastic action. If Musk actually acts on his threats, he is likely to become even further disillusioned with liberal democracy. Second, the big loser in this would be J.D. Vance, whose political identity is tied in with his ability to bridge the gap between techno-aristocrats and reactionary voters. Finally, the party would at least have an easily recognizable animal symbol. TR had a bull moose; the Musk party would have, well, a muskrat!