International

Elon Musk Breaks Silence Over Controversial Hand Gestures at Trump’s Inauguration

Published

3 months ago

Jan 21, 2025.

Dennis

Elon Musk faces backlash for a controversial gesture during Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration.
Historians and social media users liken the gesture to a Nazi salute, sparking widespread outrage.
Musk and supporters, including the ADL, dismiss claims, attributing the gesture to enthusiasm and misinterpretation.

Elon Musk has sparked controversy with a gesture made during a speech celebrating Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.

Musk, addressing the crowd at Washington, DC’s Capital One Arena, placed his right hand over his heart before extending the same arm straight ahead.

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He then turned to repeat the action for those seated behind him, thanking the audience for “making it happen” and declaring, “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”

Critics on social media likened the gesture to a Nazi salute. Claire Aubin, a historian specializing in Nazism in the United States, labelled it a “sieg heil,” while NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat described it as a “very belligerent” Nazi salute.

Musk’s close confidant Andrea Stroppa initially referred to the gesture as a “Roman salute,” but later clarified, attributing it to Musk’s autism and his desire to express heartfelt gratitude.

In response to the backlash, Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

The gesture coincides with Musk’s increasingly right-leaning political stance, including recent endorsements of Germany’s far-right AfD party and Britain’s Reform UK.