Elon Musk has denied allegations that he made a Nazi salute during his speech at the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President on Monday. The Jerusalem Post article, published the same day, questioned whether Musk had indeed made the gesture, citing local activist and academic Shai Davidai, who wrote on Instagram, “It doesn’t matter who you are, a Nazi salute is never okay.”
The incident occurred when the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla spoke to Trump supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington on Monday. Musk declared, “This was no ordinary win. This was a turning point in human civilization!” He emphasized that the US presidential elections on November 5 were “really significant” in contrast to other elections.
Musk then thanked the audience for making it “possible” by raising his right hand to his heart, with his palm facing down and his fingers together, repeating the gesture once more and turning to the people behind him. “My heart beats for you” he exclaimed.
Many media outlets claimed to have recognized a Hitler salute in the gesture. In response to a user’s post on X on Tuesday, Musk agreed, saying, “To be honest, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘Everyone is Hitler’ attack is so overdone” he wrote.
The Anti-Defamation League, with its US headquarters, stated on X on Tuesday that Musk had made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute. The organization called on all sides of the political spectrum to “give each other a little mercy, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a deep breath.”
Some social media users pointed out that other US politicians, including prominent Democrats – former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama – in the past made arm gestures that could be interpreted in a similar way, but did not receive the same media attention.
Other commentators speculated that Musk’s stiff and jerky arm gesture could be attributed to his reported diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.