It’s no secret that President Milei of Argentina is a fan of chainsaws—you can even buy “Milei chainsaw” figurines on Amazon if you really want.
Throughout his campaign for President, he occasionally held up a chainsaw, sometimes revving it, to symbolize cutting government spending.
He didn’t do it as often as you might think. Still, because it was an effective symbol, the media latched onto it, featuring the images in their stories and labeling him the “chainsaw-wielding economist.”
But this post isn’t about politics. It’s about the chainsaws. We want to know what chainsaws Milei wielded!
Milei gifts Elon Musk Chainsaw 2025
President Milei of Argentina gifted Elon Musk a custom chainsaw at CPAC in February 2025.
The chainsaw is a 59.6 cc/2.6 kW TMC model MT-598 and was customized by Argentinian Tute Di Tella.
Here he is with the chainsaw in an image he shared on his Facebook page.
Before being customized and modified, it looked like this…
You can see the product on the TMC website here.
It was nothing special, which is actually typical of the chainsaws Milei used to wave around in his public appearances.
That’s why Tute first customized a chainsaw for Milei, as he shared with Forbes:
“He used several Chinese chainsaws, very good, but without identity,” he recalls. “When I saw him with the saw accelerating, I said ‘I’m going to make him a saw and I know he’s going to end up using it,'” he says.
Now Tute is Milei’s go-to chainsaw customizer!
Here’s a YouTube Short of Elon receiving the chainsaw.
And here’s a longer video of the presentation.
Here are the previous saws Milei used. Again, they aren’t anything special.
There were no STIHL Contras or 090s, for example!
Let’s take a look at what he chose.
This new Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake looks insane.
Never mind, that’s Javier Milei, the front-runner to be Argentina’s next president.
Now bow before him. https://t.co/T7GOe7BnVM pic.twitter.com/uBMOSSvAga
— Prodigal (@ProdigalThe3rd) September 17, 2023
Our first example is this small red top handle chainsaw—brand unknown.
It looks low-powered, cheap, and a bit like the prop chainsaws that chainsaw jugglers sometimes use.
It’s obviously gas-powered rather than battery or electric, and there’s no chain on the saw.
Overall, not an impressive saw. If he wanted to use a top handle, could he not have found a 201T, at least?
Argentina’s new President is Javier Milei. A classical -liberal he is smeared as far-right by socialists.
An aficionado of Milton Friedman & Friedrich Von Hayek the chainsaw is a euphemism for cutting the size of govt.
What’s the weather like in Buenos Aires this time of year? pic.twitter.com/IxAgw6iTaI
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) November 20, 2023
Next up, another cheap, plastic, non-exciting chainsaw with a custom bar.
He really needs someone to advise him on chainsaw choice!
We’d have him fitted out with an MS 880 or even try to borrow the STIHL Jetsaw.
How much more inspiring could he have been?
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President Milei is indoors this time, wielding an electric chainsaw in this image shared to his Instagram account.
This is an Argentinian chainsaw, the Omaha BES-405. It’s another cheap, plastic chainsaw similar to Oregon electric chainsaws in the US.
To sum it up: NOT impressive.
If he had to go electric, could he not have got the STIHL E30?!
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Here he is out in the streets with another electric chainsaw. The brand is unknown, but again, not a cool saw.
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The crowds love the chainsaw symbol, but unfortunately, one cannot get excited about his choice of chainsaw.
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This is a pretty cool (though kinda creepy) mini statue of Milei and his chainsaw. It was presented to him and one imagine’s he keeps it at his desk.
The text on the bar says, “LONG LIVE FREEDOM” and the Libertarian slogan, “DON’T TREAD ON ME.”
If only the actual saws he used to symbolize his “Chainsaw Plan” were this mean!
However, those are the chainsaws of Milei.
STIHL should have got on top of this and sent him some of the best!
If you want to get your own Chainsaw Milei figurine, here’s where you can find them:
This is not an “another electric chainsaw”. This is (probably) some copy/clone/license/whatever of the dominant Komatsu/Husqvarna Zenoah G4500/5000/5200 from Chinese manufacturers. You can even buy versions with metal clutch cover and starter housing.
Thanks for the info!