It will certainly come as no surprise if Elon Musk finds his name dominating headlines once again. The world’s richest man has hardly been a stranger to controversy over the past year, but his latest move might have even his staunchest followers scratching their heads.
The rest of the world watches on as the circus that US politics has become rages on, and Musk has become an unusual center-piece in the dramatics — this despite not holding any type of elected role in Donald Trump’s administration.
The Tesla and Space X creator has been appointed head of DOGE (the newly-formed Depart of Government Efficiency), charged with lowering expenses wherever he can. On paper at least, his purpose is to weed out what he perceives as taxpayers’ money being wasted, and to that end he’s started about aiming to dramatically cut the government staff.
Correctly or incorrectly, Musk has been able to establish himself as quite powerful since Donald Trump’s election triumph last year. His presence has sparked more speculations and speculation than any other US official, save maybe the POTUS itself.
Last week Elon accompanied his 4-year-old son as he fielded inquiries from the press in the Oval Office. For anyone to see, that was an odd sight; but, perhaps not so strange – at least not for the layperson – given his recent brandishing of a chainsaw at a political gathering.
Said to be worth almost $400 billion, the 53-year-old business magnate visited the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) alongside special guest Argentinean President Javier Milei.
Musk marked the occasion by wielding a chainsaw, shocking and confusing hundreds of thousands of people who watched the event online.
If we probe further, there is a reason for his behavior that transcends mere branding him crazy. According to sources, the chainsaw now represents President Milei and his leadership style in Argentina.
Milei became well-known during the run-up to elections in his own nation for symbolically strengthening his promise of cutting public expenditure by swinging a chainsaw during his rallies.
It might not shock people that Musk adopted Milei’s chainsaw concept on stage, then pledging to commit a political Texas Chainsaw Massacre using the powers granted to the aforementioned DOGE department, at a time when US politics has fully embraced a sense of theater and showmanship in order to better get its points across.
As Musk waved the chainsaw over his head, he said, “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”
DOGE began as a meme, he said. “And now it’s real.”
For the CEO of X (previously Twitter), however, it was not all fun and games as his ex-partner Grimes, mother of three of his children, begged him to get in touch her over a “medical crisis” affecting one of his children.
Please answer regarding the medical situation of our child. Although I regret to do this in public, ignoring this situation is unacceptable now. This requires immediate attention,” Grimes wrote on X.
“If you don’t want to talk to me can you please designate or hire someone who can so that we can move forward on solving this. This is urgent, Elon.”
Grimes said the child in issue could “suffer life long impairment” should Musk keep ignoring her, although she did not go into more detail on exactly what medical crises included.