"Frankly, they need new tricks. It's very tiring, this attack that everyone is Hitler." With this message on his social network X, Elon Musk responded to the accusation that he had made a Nazi salute during a public event celebrating Trump's arrival at the White House.
"I just want to say thank you for making this happen," Musk expressed during his speech at the Capitol One Arena in the early hours of Monday, Spanish peninsular time, referring to Donald Trump's victory in the elections. Then he hit his hand on his chest and raised his right arm up with the palm facing down. He turned around and made a similar gesture in the opposite direction. "My heart is with you," he added.
Many social media users immediately pointed out the similarity of his gesture to the Nazi salute.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an observatory of antisemitism and human rights, described the gesture as "awkward" and urged caution before drawing conclusions. "It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate people being alert," the group stated in a release. "At this moment, all sides should even give each other the benefit of the doubt and take a breather," the group posted.
However, some right-wing extremists rushed to celebrate the gesture. "The White Flame will rise again," a section of the white nationalist group White Lives Matter assured on Telegram. "Maybe woke is really dead," white nationalist Keith Woods boasted on X.
Other extremism observers and experts pointed out that it was not clear what Musk was trying to convey. "I am skeptical of the idea that it was intentional," said Jared Holt, senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which documents online hate. "It would be an act of self-sabotage that really wouldn't make much sense." Holt noted that Musk specifically said his heart was with the crowd, which could indicate a kind of gesture of gratitude towards them.
Kurt Braddock, a communication professor at American University who studies extremism, radicalization, and terrorism, stated that the gesture was a fascist salute and "people should not doubt what they saw."
"He continues to downplay it as if it were not something serious," Braddock said about Musk. "I know what I saw, I know what the response to it was among elements of the far right including neo-Nazis, and I see what the reaction is now. And none of that is a laughing matter," he affirmed.
While Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, opined that even if it was accidental, the gesture Musk made has the power to hurt people.
"When you are a public figure at the highest levels of power on Inauguration Day, making a salute like that is extraordinarily disturbing and requires an explanation," he pointed out. "Remarks are made about freedom of speech. Well, along with freedom of speech comes responsibility," he concluded. Levin also highlighted the risk that some extremists interpret the gesture, regardless of its intention, as "a not-so-subtle marching order."
Elon Musk establishes himself as the troll of European politics
Musk is openly at odds with Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the tension between them has escalated with this episode. "Just to repeat what I have already said: There is freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany, and everyone can say what they want, even if they are a billionaire. But what we do not accept is if this (what is said) supports far-right positions," reacted the German head of government during his intervention in Davos, without directly mentioning Musk's gesture.
"Shame on you Oaf Schitz!" Musk replied on X, in what appears to be a play on words, as "oaf" means clumsy or foolish in English, while "Shitz" resembles the word "shit." Elon Musk has endorsed the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the upcoming general elections on January 23. For the mogul, the only party, as he publicly stated, capable of "saving" Germany.