Yesterday, Elon Musk performed a stiff-armed salute that sparked widespread condemnation online.
The salute, performed at an event celebrating the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, has been compared to gestures made by fascist leaders including Adolf Hilter and Benito Mussolini.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk said to crowds at Washington’s Capital One Area, where President Trump greeted supporters and signed executive orders on stage.
He then put his hand on his chest and extended a rigid right arm with his palm down, resembling the fascist salute.
Internet reacts to Musk’s stiff-armed salute
Online, Musk has received waves of criticism in response to his controversial gesture.
Some are poking fun at the incident, posting an infographic pointing out the varied uses of a stiff right arm, other than for use as a nazi salute.
Others are simply appalled by the salute and its visibility on stage.
“THERE’S NO WAY ELON MUSK DID A SIEG HEIL AT TRUMP’S INAUGURATION. A FUCKING NAZI SALUTE AS CLEAR AS DAY. WHAT IS HAPPENING,”, one user reacted on X.
Another reacted: “Elon musk doing the a nazi salute on stage in front cameras two seconds into trump’s presidency because he knows they’ll be no repercussions because he’s basically bought the American government …just WOW.”
Some supporters speculated that Musk’s actions might stem from neurodivergence, describing the gesture as a socially awkward wave rather than a Nazi salute.
One defender wrote on X: “…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.’”
Others are less convinced by this defence.
One X user mocked these defences, saying: “Elon Musk is a genius just like Iron Man but he also isn’t familiar with the Nazi salute bc he is neurodivergent and a minor…he never heard of it before bc he is just a baby…”
Another equally criticised using neurodivergence as an excuse for the gesture, saying: “‘Elon Musk is autistic’ NO. Stop excusing evil men just because they are autistic. Autistic people are not infants. Autistic people can be bad people. And nazi billionaires who side with a convicted felon and adjudicated rapists are not exempt just because of their neurotype.”
Musk’s history with the far-right
The incident has reignited scrutiny of Musk’s history of amplifying far-right narratives.
In just one example from November, Musk shared a QAnon-hype video produced by a Nazi sympathizer on X.
The month prior, the Daily Dot also reported on an X user, a self-described Aryan who is “very impressed” by the Holocaust, that was repeatedly amplified by Musk.
Notably, despite the controversy surrounding the gesture, Musk has uploaded the full video of his speech to his personal X account, including the moment of his controversial salute.
Musk has only vagulely alluded to the controversy in a post on X in which he accused liberals of unfairly labeling their political rivals as akin to Hitler.
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