
Controversial tech CEO Elon Musk divided the internet after President Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday after a gesture was labeled a Nazi ‘Heil Hitler’ salute.
Musk, who has been previously accused of allowing hate speech to flourish on X and has engaged with antisemitic conspiracy theories on the social media platform, thanked the crowd at Capital one Arena in Washington, D.C. before placing his right hand on his chest and stretching out his arm with his palm facing down. The leader of the newly-established Department of Government Efficiency repeated the gesture again to the other side of the crowd.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk said. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
Immediately after, Musk was accused of performing the fascist salute, which was popularized by the Nazis and is still used by neo-Nazis and other white supremacist groups. However, while many are convinced that Musk performed a Nazi salute, others — including Jewish groups he has sparred with in the past — challenged this belief.
Some came to the defense of Elon Musk
Antisemitism watchdog the Anti-Defamation League came to Musk’s defense, writing that people were misinterpreting the entrepreneur’s excitement.
“This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety,” the ADL wrote in a statement. “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.”
Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism told the Forward that she agreed with the ADL, but said the U.S. still needs to focus on tackling antisemitism.
“We have much bigger things to worry about than what the ADL has decided was an awkward gesture,” Lipstadt said. “Much bigger things to worry about.”
Some have attributed the gesture to Musk’s autism, claiming critics were trying to “invent controversy.”
“As a person with a *strong* track record of criticizing Elon Musk, I feel extremely confident asserting that this was not a Nazi salute. Elon Musk is a friend to the Jews. This is a man with Aspergers exuberantly throwing his heart to the crowd. We don’t need to invent outrage,” Newsweek editor Batya Ungar-Sargon wrote on X.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nation denied that Musk performed Nazi salutes.
“No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” Stefanik said during a hearing Tuesday. “The American people are smart. They see through it. They support Elon Musk. We are proud to be the country of such successful entrepreneurs.”
Many believe Musk intentionally performed the salute
Abraham Foxman, the former director of the ADL blasted Musk’s actions as “very disconcerting” on X, adding that “Elon Musk may be the world’s richest man but that does not excuse his thanking the Trump supporters with a Heil Hitler Nazi salute.”
Jewish Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) ripped Musk in a message on X and called on other members of congress to also speak out.
“I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal. This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history. I urge all of my colleagues to unite in condemning this hateful gesture for what it is: antisemitism,” Nadler wrote.
I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal. This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history. I urge all of my colleagues to unite in… https://t.co/WDgReK1gey
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) January 20, 2025
Jon Stewart, the Jewish host of “The Daily Show” mocked those who called Musk’s gesture a mistake, joking that anyone could have mistakenly performed a fascist salute. When Musk repeats the action, Stewart yells “Son of bitch! You really want to make sure that people in the back can see it!”
Jon Stewart on Elon's fascisty salute pic.twitter.com/m1f9DYjjOm
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 21, 2025
Jewish Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who is the co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism condemned Musk Tuesday for “repeatedly” promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and explicitly showing “support for Hitler” with his gesture.
“Elon Musk has repeatedly pushed for the racist and antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory, endorsed the Nazi-sympathizing German Political Party AfD, and allowed anti-Jewish hate to proliferate unabated on his website, X,” Goldman said.
“Viewed in that context, and regardless of any justification, his salute last night at Donald Trump’s inauguration rally can only be interpreted as a Seig Heil salute that is synonymous with Nazi support for Hitler,” he added. “Neo-Nazi and far-right extremists have interpreted Musk’s salute to refer to the Seig Heil salute to Hitler.”
Controversial Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped the ADL on X, accusing the organization of supporting antisemitic behavior and kowtowing to the Republicans.
“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,” she wrote.
Ocasio-Cortez followed up her message with two others, one criticizing Rep. Mike Collins for remaining silent on Musk after he urged Trump to deport a liberal bishop, and another discussing why she feels the need to come after “anyone who is sympathetic to Nazis.”
AOC: Elon Musk can do whatever he wants behind the presidential seal, but in this country we hate Nazis. Two of the foundational things in American history are that we beat the confederates and we beat the Nazis. pic.twitter.com/dBlK9W4Jpv
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 22, 2025
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) condemned Musk for repeated antisemitism and for performing a “clear” “Sieg Heil” salute.
Neo-Nazi, white supremacist and violent rightist fringe groups are amplifying and celebrating Musk's Nazi salute from last night. Combined with yesterday's pardoning of hundreds of rioters, the last 24 hours have been a gift to those who trade in political violence. pic.twitter.com/HPLOADfeAC
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 22, 2025
“That is clear, that is the Nazi salute. That is the Heil Hitler salute.. Of course it’s the Nazi salute. Because Elon Musk, he’s endorsed the neo-Nazi party inside Germany, he amplifies antisemitic conspiracy theories on Twitter. And maybe what’s most important, even though Elise Stefanik maybe didn’t think that it was a Nazi salute, Neo-Nazis in the United States did. White supremacists in the United States did,” Murphy said.
Neo-Nazis have flocked around Musk after the video went viral
Whether the gesture was a neo-Nazi salute or not, American Neo-Nazis showed their support of Musk and have claimed him as a fellow supporter of Hitler’s ideology.
Christopher Pohlhaus, who leads the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe posted Musk’s clip to Telegram with a lightning bolt emoji (neo-Nazis use the emoji to evoke the Nazi SS) writing, “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.”
The Ohio chapter of the Proud Boys posted a clip of the Musk video to its Telegram page with the caption, “Hail Trump!”
Andrew Torba, founder of the Christian Nationalist social media platform Gab that hosts AI Nazi chatbots posted the Musk clip writing, “Incredible things are happening already lmao.”
Race-separatist movement NSC-131 leader Christopher Hood also shared the clip, captioning it with the ⁉️and 😁 emojis.
White nationalist group White Lives Matter praised Musk on Telegram, writing “Thanks for (sometimes) hearing us, Elon. The White Flame will rise again” on a photo of the group’s “Elon Musk Stop White Genocide” sign.
A Nazi meme channel on Telegram wrote “WE ARE F–KING BACK,” under the Musk video. Members of the group enthusiastically replied with lightning bolts.
Andrea Stroppa, an advisor for Musk in Italy, shared the video on X writing, “The Roman Empire is back, starting with the Roman salute,” in a now-deleted message. The Roman Salute, which has no historical connection with Rome, is also considered to be a neo-Nazi symbol after being co-opted by fascists in the 1930s.
Stroppa backtracked and blamed Musk’s behavior on his autism
“That gesture, which some mistook for a Nazi salute, is simply Elon, who has autism, expressing his feelings by saying ‘I want to give my heart to you,’ and that is exactly what he communicated into the microphone,” adding, “Elon dislikes extremists!”
Has Elon Musk responded?
Musk never disavowed the neo-Nazis who have been promoting the idea that he performed a Heil Hitler salute, instead pointing fingers at Democrats, accusing them of making up the claims that it was a neo-Nazi gesture.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk said with a sleepy emoji.
Frankly, they need better dirty tricks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2025
The “everyone is Hitler” attack is sooo tired 😴 https://t.co/9fIqS5mWA0
The tech CEO made light of the allegations, reposting cropped videos and photos of Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Ocasio-Cortez, and even Taylor Swift with their arms out at different angles. He shared an image comparing fans of Swift to Hitler Youth.
“Haha this is amazing,” Musk wrote.
He added that newspapers comparing his gesture to a Nazi salute was “pure propaganda.”
Musk history with Israel and antisemitism
Musk has recently shared his support for Germany’s far-right political party, Alternative for Germany, writing that “Only the AfD can save Germany.” Leaders of the party have been accused of downplaying or denying the Holocaust, and have been known to have neo-Nazi ties.
X, Musk’s social media platform, has been under fire for not content moderating antisemitism.
A January 2024 report from Cyberwell found that out of all social media companies, X saw the most frequent “denial and distortion of the events of Oct. 7” and adherence to its own moderation policies.
X was reportedly responsible for 47% of the antisemitic posts in the data set and only took down 2% of the posts flagged for Oct. 7 denialism. Often, posts with blatant antisemitism are not removed from the platform once reported. Musk has previously lashed out at the ADL for highlighting the leniency on X toward neo-Nazis, threatening to sue the watchdog for defamation.
After he bought X (then Twitter), Musk reinstated the accounts of known neo-Nazis like Holocaust-denier and Proud Boys leader Nick Fuentes and has promoted antisemitic content like Tucker Carlson’s interview with a known Holocaust denier.
The tech executive took a trip to Israel amid a temporary truce between the Jewish State and Hamas in 2023. The billionaire tech executive met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and toured locations that Hamas attacked on Oct. 7.
The trip occurred one week after Musk endorsed a post on X, which was universally condemned as antisemitic and supportive of the “Great Replacement Theory.” Musk later apologized for this endorsement, acknowledging the problematic nature of the post.
In a live conversation on X with Netanyahu, Musk underscored that Israel must destroy Hamas.
Despite his statement of support for Israel, in recent months, Musk has supported antisemitic theories multiple times.
You have said the actual truth
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023
In November, after an X user wrote, “Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” Musk replied, “You have said the actual truth.”
“Those who are intent on murder must be neutralized. Then the propaganda must stop,” he said. “They’re just training people to be murderers.”
The claim that Jewish people are “anti-white” is popular in antisemitic, white supremacist communities. The post Musk endorsed also invoked the white nationalist belief that “hordes of minorities” are flooding the U.S through Jewish aid to reduce the proportion of white Americans.
Following the report’s release, Musk accused the ADL of trying to shut down the website by “falsely accusing it and me of being antisemitic.”
Musk said the ADL tried to “kill” X’s business and blamed it for a 60% drop in revenue from advertising sales. However, most of these advertisers say they pulled out of X due to Musk’s conduct and hate speech on the platform.
Originally Published Jan 22, 2025 12:11PM EST