Tech billionaire Elon Musk has come under fire after making hand gestures resembling the Nazi salute during a speech celebrating the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump.
Addressing Trump supporters hours after the Republican was inaugurated as the 47th US president on Monday, Musk hailed the outcome of the November 4 election as “no ordinary victory”.
Musk then thumped his right hand on his chest before extending his arm at an upward angle with his palm down and fingers together.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who has been tasked with leading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency in Trump’s administration, then turned around to face the crowd behind him and repeated the gesture.
Musk’s actions drew immediate scrutiny online, with some social media users accusing him of giving the infamous Sieg Heil salute associated with Adolf Hitler.
Musk’s gesture, which received praise from a number of US-based neo-Nazis, also garnered attention in the Israeli media, with the newspaper Haaretz saying Musk appeared to have given a “‘Roman salute,’ a fascist salute most commonly associated with Nazi Germany”.
Others defended Musk, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the most prominent organisations dedicated to opposing anti-Semitism.
The New York-based organisation, which has faced criticism for conflating opposition to Israel with anti-Semitism, said it seemed the billionaire had made an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute”.
While not addressing the controversy directly, Musk responded to a number of X posts about the incident, including to thank the ADL and express agreement with a user who said that calling people Nazis was “tired, boring, and old material.”
Musk’s politics have shifted sharply right since he publicly came out in support of Trump after the Republican narrowly survived an attempted assassination in July.
Earlier this month, the billionaire hosted AfD leader Alice Weidel for a conversation on his social media platform X after endorsing her party in February’s national elections.
