Will Mike Duggan join forces with Elon Musk?

As Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan courts voters in his campaign for Michigan governor, many voters are wondering whether he would welcome support from one of the country’s most polarizing figures — Elon Musk.

Duggan has raised questions over his apparent flirtation with Musk, who in June posted online about launching a new political movement. Duggan, who is running as an independent, replied at the time with a smiling emoji and wrote, “Now you’ve got my attention.”

That comment, along with Duggan’s earlier claim that Musk would be the first person he’d visit if elected governor, are drawing criticism at a time when the world’s wealthiest man is becoming increasingly polarizing and toxic.

NOTUS, a national nonprofit news site, first broached the subject in a brief mention for a story Monday, saying Duggan had “played some online footsie with Musk in June when he left the White House and first floated the new party idea.” Duggan’s campaign didn’t respond to NOTUS for comment.

After Metro Times originally published this story, Duggan’s campaign distanced the mayor from Musk.

“There has been no contact between Elon Musk and the Duggan campaign,” the mayor’s political team said in a written statement. “Mayor Duggan believes Michigan has suffered badly from the toxic fighting between Republicans and Democrats in Lansing. The Mayor’s solution is to run as an Independent who doesn’t belong to any party, because he believes that’s the best hope to forge a unified agenda for Michigan.”

Duggan’s campaign also drew a distinction between an independent candidate and a third party.

“Elon Musk’s approach is the opposite — it is to create a third party,” the campaign said. “Mayor Duggan believes that, for Michigan, the injection of a third party would add to the chaos and division in the State Legislature and make things worse. It is not an approach Mayor Duggan will be pursuing.”

Musk has proposed the creation of a new political party called the America Party. He has formed an unlikely political alliance with Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate who launched the Forward Party in 2021. Although Yang is politically left of Musk, both men believe the two-party system is broken and that a new political movement is needed.

But relying on Musk could backfire. He has become an increasingly controversial and unpredictable figure in recent years, peddling conspiracy theories, sharing and liking posts widely condemned as antisemetic, and spreading misinformation about immigration, election fraud, and transgender policies. He formally endorsed President Donald Trump in 2024.

At an event after Trump was sworn in as president, Musk appeared to make a Nazi salute. Soon after Trump took office, he appointed Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) purportedly to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy within the federal government. DOGE slashed more than 285,000 federal jobs, leaving many critical federal agencies without adequate staff, and eliminated lifesaving food and medical assistance to impoverished countries.

But after Musk criticized Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” for increasing the debt ceiling, Musk and Trump have since turned on each other, prompting Musk to call for a third party.

“It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” Musk wrote on X. “Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”

Mayor Mike Duggan is running for governor as an independent. Credit: City of Detroit/Flickr

The Michigan Democratic Party blasted Duggan for flirting with Musk.

“Mike Duggan played ‘online footsie’ with Elon Musk last month and is now dodging questions on if he’s asking for Musk’s support,” Michigan Democratic Party spokesman Derrick Honeyman said Monday. “After Elon Musk worked with Trump to make life worse for Michiganders, Duggan needs to answer on if he is seeking Musk’s support.”

After Duggan’s campaign responded to this story, Honeyman said the response was inadequate and didn’t address the main question.

“Mike Duggan is trying to have this both ways in what should be a simple yes or no answer on if he’d accept Elon Musk’s support,” Honeyman said. “It’s clear that Duggan’s campaign is already flailing and that he can’t be trusted.”

A recent YouGov poll found that Musk’s popularity has plummeted among both Democrats and Trump supporters. A “#TeslaTakedown” boycott against Musk’s electric car company has claimed victory in tanking its stocks and a massive drop in sales.

Meanwhile, Duggan is trying to build bipartisan support for his campaign. A recent poll showed Duggan leading among independent voters and pulling support from both Democrats and Republicans, though his name recognition and support dropped off sharply outside metro Detroit.

When Duggan responded to Musk’s tweet about a third-party system, most of the comments were negative.

“Don’t, he’s a political albatross,” one X user warned. “The cost to redeem the negative impact he would bring to you is near infinite.”

Another X user said, “Mike, I love you and I support the movement, but, this is NOT it.”

“Oh brother you’re not this dumb are you,” an X user responded more bluntly.

This article has been updated with additional comments from the Duggan campaign.