Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, who has been continuously criticizing the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, has recently referenced Argentina’s austerity measures, which are likened to a “chainsaw.” This move is interpreted as a critique of the Trump administration’s large-scale tax cut policies.
On the 7th, Musk retweeted (shared) a post on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the success of Argentine President Javier Milei’s fiscal austerity policies.
The post Musk shared stated, “Milei reduced public spending by 30% and achieved a surplus in just a month. His popularity hasn’t waned, and it has actually increased. Do not say that fiscal discipline isn’t popular among ordinary citizens. It’s only unpopular with powerful special interest groups dominating Washington.”
Additionally, at the end of the post, there was a photo of President Milei, who is known for his trademark “chainsaw,” wielding it alongside his brother during his presidential campaign.
It is known that Musk has been interested in Milei’s “chainsaw” fiscal austerity pledge since he was a presidential candidate and has built a rapport with him through several meetings at various locations after Milei took office.
President Milei also met Musk on February 20 at a conservative group event in Maryland, USA, where he gifted Musk an actual chainsaw.
According to the Argentine daily La Nación, “Musk leveraged his ideological affinity with President Milei’s austerity policies by retweeting a post from an X user, thereby attacking Trump’s budget bill.”
The Trump administration is pursuing the “One Big Beautiful Budget Reconciliation Act (OBBBA),” which includes extending major tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year and increasing the debt limit to $5 trillion. If this bill passes, the U.S. fiscal deficit is expected to increase significantly.
Musk continues to openly criticize Trump’s tax cut policies.