Elon Musk wields chainsaw at conservative gathering, a gift from Argentina's Milei

Elon Musk, the billionaire tasked with slashing US federal government spending, took to the stage at a conservative conference outside Washington on Thursday with a gift from Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei: a chainsaw.

"This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy," said Musk, holding the gleaming power tool aloft at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

The red metallic chainsaw, given to Musk by Milei earlier in the day, was engraved on its side with the Argentine leader's coarse Spanish slogan: "Viva la libertad, carajo," which loosely translates to "Long live freedom, damn it!"

Musk is leading sweeping cuts under US President Donald Trump that have targeted bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists and tens of thousands of other government employees.

On Thursday, 6,000 employees at the US Internal Revenue Service were told they would be fired, a person familiar with the matter said.

Musk, the CEO of automaker Tesla and the world's richest man, has enthusiastically promoted Milei's speeches.

Before Milei became Argentina's president in late 2023, he would often brandish a chainsaw at campaign rallies as a symbol of his drive to cut the size of government.