New Delhi, July 6 -- A day after Elon Musk announced he was founding a new US political party, the move has triggered backlash from Trump administration officials and investors worried about his focus on Tesla.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN that Musk's companies would likely prefer he focus on his corporate duties rather than a third-party campaign.

"I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities," Bessent said.

He also cast doubt on Musk's personal popularity with voters.

"The principles of DOGE [the Department of Government Efficiency] were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, El...