The rest of the world watches on as the circus that US politics has become rages on, and Musk has become an unlikely center-piece in the dramatics – this despite not holding any sort of elected position in Donald Trump’s administration.

The Tesla and Space X founder has been appointed head of DOGE (the newly-formed Depart of Government Efficiency), charged with slashing costs wherever he can. On paper at least, his aim is to weed out what he sees as taxpayers’ money being wasted, and to that end he’s set about attempting to drastically reduce the federal workforce.

Rightly or wrongly, Musk has managed to force his way into an extremely influential position since Donald Trump’s election victory last year, and his presence has generated more rumors and speculation than anyone in the US government, save perhaps the POTUS himself.

Last week Elon fielded answered questions from the press in the Oval Office, accompanied by his 4-year-old son. That was a bizarre sight for anyone to see, but perhaps not so bizarre – at least to the layman – as his recent brandishing of a chainsaw at a political event.

The 53-year-old business mogul – said to have a worth of around $400 billion – made an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) alongside special guest Argentinian President Javier Milei.

Musk marked the moment by producing a chainsaw, much to the shock and bewilderment of hundreds of thousands of people who followed the event online.