Elon Musk sparks backlash with Nazi-like gesture at Trump inauguration

21 January, 2025

Elon Musk at Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC

Elon Musk has courted controversy for seemingly giving a Nazi-like gesture during a speech at President Donald Trump‘s inauguration in Washington DC.

The tech billionaire and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla was appointed by the new POTUS to lead his new Department Of Government Efficiency following Trump’s historic US election win last November.

When speaking at a celebratory event at the Capital One Arena yesterday (January 20), Musk expressed his happiness over Trump re-entering the White House. “I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” he said.

The X/Twitter owner then slapped his chest with his right hand, and flung his arm up diagonally upwards. Musk turned around to crowd members behind the podium before repeating the gesture.

With his palm back on his chest, he added: “My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilisation is assured.”

However, many have compared the gesture to a Nazi salute signalling obedience to Adolf Hitler. Posting a video of the moment (watch above), PBS News noted Musk giving “what appeared to be a fascist salute” in his speech.

Elsewhere, CNN anchor Erin Burnett drew attention to the move during live coverage of the event, with co-anchor Kasie Hunt saying that the gesture was “not something that you typically see in American political rallies” (via Time).

Musician and environmental activist Bill Madden wrote on X/Twitter: “If giving the Nazi ‘Sieg Heil’ salute was an Olympic event like gymnastics, Elon Musk would’ve received a perfect score of 10. Musk even nailed the facial expression. Seriously, Hitler would be jealous.”

In a video on his Instagram Stories, Finneas said: “Elon Musk just did a Nazi salute. So… that’s where we’re at.”

Musk has not responded formally, but agreed with a tweet that read: “Can we please retire the calling people a Nazi thing? It didn’t work during the election, it’s not working now, it’s tired, boring, and old material, you’ve burned out its effect, people don’t feel shocked by it anymore, the wolf has been cried too many times.”

He responded: “Yeah exactly 🥱.”

Musk has reposted a clip of his speech too, including the gestures, on his X/Twitter page. “The future is so exciting!!” he wrote.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Nazi salute – aka the Hitler salute – “consists of raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down”.

“In Nazi Germany, it was often accompanied by chanting or shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ or ‘Sieg Heil’,” it continues. “Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have continued to use the salute, making it the most common white supremacist hand sign in the world.”

Per the ADL’s official website, it is “the leading anti-hate organisation in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is ‘to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all’.”

The ADL has shared a statement about Musk’s gesture, writing: “It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge.

“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”

Democratic US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez later hit back at the ADL: “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.

“People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.” Musk replied to that message, saying Ocasio-Cortez had “reached Stage Five [Trump Derangement Syndrome] – fully unhinged”.

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone has reported that some right-wing extremists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis had been “celebrating” Musk’s gesture at the inauguration.

Elon Musk Path Of Exile 2
Elon Musk in 2024. CREDIT: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Andrew Torba, founder of far-right social media platform Gab, said: “Incredible things are happening already.” The leader of neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe wrote: “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.”

Musk has been criticised in the past for letting pro-Nazi profiles thrive on X/Twitter, sharing right-wing memes and seemingly supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. As Time reports, the latter resulted in an exodus of advertisers from the platform in 2023.

More recently, Musk endorsed Germany’s far-right populist AfD party. “Only the AfD can save Germany,” he wrote last month. But the party has denied associations with Hitler, and Musk has urged people not to compare the AfD’s leader to the dictator.

Trump has been compared to Hitler on numerous occasions, including by the likes of Green Day, John Cleese and Stranger Things star Matthew Modine.

In other news, Green Day recently hit out at Musk while performing ‘American Idiot’. “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda,” sang Billie Joe Armstrong, notably swapping out the “redneck agenda” line.

Meanwhile, Trump has declared that America will only recognise two sexes – male and female. One user on X/Twitter wrote: “All those years of progression gone in an instant”, while another described it as a “step backward”.

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