Elon Musk Reacts to His "Nazi Salute" at the Trump Rally, Sparking a Row: "Everyone Is Hitler"

Since making the motion, Elon Musk has posted twelve times on his social network X, but he did not immediately respond to the ensuing uproar.

Some have referred to the footage of US tech billionaire Elon Musk doing the "one arm extended with open palm" gesture during a Donald Trump rally on Monday as a "Nazi" or "fascist" movement.


At the Capital One Arena in Washington, where supporters of the newly elected president had come to celebrate his inauguration, the CEO of X, SpaceX, and Tesla made an appearance on stage.After expressing gratitude to the audience for bringing the 78-year-old Republican back to the White House, Musk tapped his right hand on the left side of his chest and then held out his arm with his palm facing the audience behind him.

NEVER TRUST THE MEDIA You're being misled by the media. The Nazi salute was never performed by Elon Musk. View the entire video: "Thank you, my heart goes out to you," he remarked with a simple gesture.

Historian Claire Aubin, who focuses on Nazism in the United States, concurred that Musk's gesture was a Nazi salute, or "sieg heil."

In line with some who thought the motion was an obvious allusion to Nazis, Aubin wrote on X, "My professional opinion is that you're all right, you should believe your eyes."

Fascist historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat also stated on X that the motion "was a Nazi salute — and a very belligerent one too."

Members of the Democratic Party also reacted alarmingly right away. In response, Congressman Jimmy Gomez wrote on X, "Well, that didn't take long."

But Musk brushed the criticism aside. "To be honest, they need better dirty tricks," Musk posted on his social media platform X. I'm so sick of the "everyone is Hitler" attack.

According to news agency AFP, one rallygoer claimed he believed Musk was making the motion in jest.

He employs a lot of sarcasm and is quite funny. Therefore, I don't think he meant it when he did it on stage," said 29-year-old tech professional and preacher Brandon Galambos.

According to reports from the publications Wired and Rolling Stone, far-right figures in the US were applauding the action. One such figure was writer Evan Kilgore, who described the salute as "incredible."