Elon Musk Says DOGE Chainsaw Stunt ‘Lacked Empathy’

Elon Musk mentioned that brandishing a chainsaw onstage in February in all probability wasn’t such a good suggestion.

Musk — who’s been on a tear criticizing President Donald Trump’s spending invoice — was posting on X in regards to the debt ceiling on Tuesday. That received a response from an X consumer who criticized Musk for his actions in February.

“Possibly you should not have taken the chainsaw on stage and acted a idiot. Possibly you could possibly have gotten extra carried out when you weren’t so frightened about wanting cool,” the X consumer, Jim Spradlin, wrote, responding to one in every of Musk’s Tuesday tweets on authorities spending.

“Legitimate level. Milei gave me the chainsaw backstage and I ran with it, however, looking back, it lacked empathy,” Musk replied, referring to Javier Milei, Argentina’s president.

That second on the Conservative Political Motion Convention in February has develop into an iconic picture of Musk’s time helming the Division of Authorities Effectivity.

“President Milei has a present for me,” Musk mentioned onstage at CPAC.

Milei then walked out from backstage and handed the chainsaw to Musk, who lifted it over his head and brandished it briefly whereas growling.

“That is the chainsaw for forms,” Musk mentioned, chainsaw aloft.

Now, issues are totally different with Trump and Musk. Musk has develop into one of the vital vocal opponents of Trump’s “huge, stunning invoice.”

Musk began criticizing the invoice in June, resulting in an unpleasant, public fallout with Trump that appeared to clear up. However he reignited his criticism on Saturday, posting on X that the president’s signature tax invoice — which might reduce an electrical car tax credit score that has helped Musk’s Tesla — “will destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs in America and trigger immense strategic hurt to our nation.”

“Completely insane and damaging. It provides handouts to industries of the previous whereas severely damaging industries of the long run,” he wrote.

He additionally threatened to kind a brand new political celebration and fund main opponents to any lawmakers who assist go the spending invoice.

In response, Trump has advised at press occasions and in a publish on Reality Social that DOGE might look into slashing Musk’s authorities contracts.

“I do not know. We’ll have to have a look. We’d need to put DOGE on Elon. what DOGE is? The monster that may have to return and eat Elon,” Trump mentioned on the White Home on Tuesday. “Would not that be horrible? He will get quite a lot of subsidies.”

Musk then wrote on X: “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. However I’ll chorus for now.”

Musk and representatives for Milei didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.