Musk walks back chainsaw wielding display: ‘It lacked empathy’

Elon Musk is expressing some regret for waving a chainsaw to rile up the crowd during a conservative conference back in February, as his feud with Donald Trump over the US president’s tax and spending bill reignites. 

“Milei gave me the chainsaw backstage and I ran with it, but, in retrospect, it lacked empathy,” Musk said in a post on X, referring to Argentina's President Javier Milei, who was on stage with him at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

The Tesla Inc CEO was replying to a user who said Musk could have gotten more done during his time in government if he wasn’t as worried about appearances. 

At CPAC, Musk was seen coming on stage wearing all black waving his hands and jumping around just before accepting a chainsaw from Milei. The power tool became a symbol for Musk’s controversial government efficiency effort, which he recently departed. 

Since leaving government, Musk has been at odds with Trump over his criticism of the president’s tax and spending bill. The tensions between the two cooled after Musk said some of his comments went too far, but he has recently started to criticise the bill again on his social media website.