After coming under fire for making a one-armed gesture that many observers thought was a Nazi salute, Elon Musk has responded to the subsequent backlash.
The billionaire was giving a speech during Donald Trump's inauguration when he made the salute—not once, but twice—while speaking about the election's importance.
“This one really mattered. And I just want to say thank you for making it happen, thank you,” he said.
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Following widespread backlash comparing his gesture to a Roman salute—most commonly associated with the phrase "Heil Hitler"—Musk addressed his critics in a post on X, writing, "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Not everyone was convinced by Musk's defense, however.
"Historian of fascism here. That was a Nazi salute - and a very belligerent one too," New York University history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat wrote on X.
Historian of fascism here. That was a Nazi salute - and a very belligerent one too t.co/PB9sFCVJGA
— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) January 20, 2025Related: Elon Musk's Ex Grimes Issues a Blunt Clarification About Their Breakup
Even some of Musk's supporters believed the gesture to be intentional, as Slate reported, with one "prominent Holocaust denier" writing, “Holy crap...did Elon Musk just Heil Hitler at the Trump Inauguration Rally in Washington DC…This is incredible,” adding later, “We are so back.”
This isn't the first time Musk has been accused of being anti-semitic.
In November 2023, Musk replied to a post on X accusing Jewish communities of pushing "hatred against whites," calling it "actual truth," according to the BBC.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the comment was "unacceptable."
"We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms," Bates declared at the time.
Following the controversy—in addition to a report which found that pro-Nazi content was appearing next to ads—multiple companies pulled their advertisements from X, including IBM, Disney, Comcast NBCUniversal, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Paramount Global and Apple, according to NPR.
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