'He Is Who We Think He Is': Elon Musk Appears to Do Fascist Salutes at Post-Inauguration Celebration


"Tomorrow we'll get an explanation that it wasn't a Sieg Heil, he was just pantomiming his 'heart going out to the people.' Legacy media will basically accept this explanation. But you know what you saw and you know what he is," wrote one observer.

Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during an inauguration event at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Eloise Goldsmith
Jan 20, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

While concluding his remarks at a Washington, D.C. celebration rally following President Donald Trump's inauguration Monday, Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk raised his right arm, with his palm facing down, in a gesture that appeared to resemble a salute associated with Nazi Germany. Musk can be seen making the gesture twice.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a group that combats antisemitism, defines the Nazi salute as consisting of "raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down."

The ADL, however, released a statement on Monday saying that Musk's gesture was not a Nazi salute. "It seems that [Elon Musk] made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute," the group wrote on the platform X, which is owned by Musk. "In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath," they wrote.

The ADL's comment engendered criticism, including from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who wrote in response, "Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity."




Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) wrote: "Dang he meant that. Looks as if he's been holding that in for a while and finally was able to let it rip. Like he practiced in the mirror to hit that angle just right."

Others also weighed in on social media. "Did Elon Musk just hit the roman salute at his inauguration speech?” Twitch streamer Hasan Piker posted on X. "Why isn't Elon Musk doing two Nazi salutes at Trump's inauguration a lead story today?" asked political strategist Walid Shahid.

A Bluesky user wrote "Casual Nazi salute on live television."

"He accidentally did a Nazi salute... TWICE," wrote the journalist Mehdi Hasan. "He is who we think he is."

Musk, a GOP megadonor who is slated to play a key role in the Trump administration, has expressed his support for the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), a virulently ant-immigration party that has been designated by the German domestic intelligence service as a "suspected extremist" organization. Figures in the party have been accused of using Nazi slogans in speeches and downplaying the Holocaust. Musk held a live event on X with the leader of AfD, Alice Weidel, in early January.

Musk has also repeatedly attacked billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, who has been the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories, including by sharing social media posts that falsely claimed Soros "collaborated with the Nazis as a teenager" and describing him as a "psychopath trying to destroy the West," according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz

Michael McCarthy, a PhD student at Indiana University wrote on X: "Tomorrow we'll get an explanation that it wasn't a Sieg Heil, he was just pantomiming his 'heart going out to the people.' Legacy media will basically accept this explanation."

"But you know what you saw," McCarthy added. "And you know what he is."

This article was updated with comments from the ADL and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

SEIG HEIL

Musk raises eyebrows with salute gesture at Trump rally


By AFP
January 20, 2025


Elon Musk's gesture at a rally for US President Donald Trump has generated controversy for its resemblance to a Nazi salute - Copyright AFP ANGELA WEISS

Billionaire Elon Musk sparked controversy Monday after making a gesture at an event celebrating US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with some calling it a “Nazi” or “fascist” movement.

The X, SpaceX and Tesla chief appeared on stage at the Capital One Arena in Washington, where supporters of the newly inaugurated president had gathered for a rally.

Upon thanking the crowd for returning the 78-year-old Republican to the White House, Musk tapped the left side of his chest with his right hand and then extended his arm with his palm open, repeating the gesture for the crowd seated behind him.

Claire Aubin, a historian who specializes in Nazism within the United States, agreed Musk’s gesture was a “sieg heil,” or Nazi salute.

“My professional opinion is that you’re all right, you should believe your eyes,” Aubin posted on X, aligning with those who found the gesture was an overt reference to Nazis.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian of fascism, also found the gesture “was a Nazi salute — and a very belligerent one too,” she said on X.

Democratic Party members also quickly responded with alarm.

Congressman Jimmy Gomez reacted to the moment by posting on X: “Well, that didn’t take long.”

Musk, who has posted a dozen times on his social network X since making the gesture, did not immediately react to the swirling controversy.

One attendee at the rally told AFP he thought Musk was making the gesture as a joke.

“He’s very humorous, and he uses a lot of sarcasm. So when he did that on the stage, I don’t think he meant it,” said Brandon Galambos, a 29-year-old pastor and tech worker.

Reports by Wired and Rolling Stone magazines said far-right personalities in the United States were celebrating the move, like the writer Evan Kilgore, who called the salute “incredible.”

Musk has also made several statements in recent weeks in support of Germany’s far-right AfD party and British anti-immigration party Reform UK.

The Anti Defamation League (ADL), an organization founded to combat anti-Semitism which has criticized Musk in the past, defended his actions this time around.

“It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the organization said in a statement posted on X.

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted the ADL’s reaction, saying on X: “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.”

Another historian, Aaron Astor, also rebuffed accusations of Musk’s Nazi emulation.

“I have criticized Elon Musk many times for letting neo-Nazis pollute this platform,” he wrote on X, adding: “But this gesture is not a Nazi salute.”

“This is a socially awkward autistic man’s wave to the crowd where he says ‘my heart goes out to you.'”

In 2021, Musk announced he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.