My Thoughts on Elon's Nazi Salute
During Trump's inauguration party, Twitter CEO Elon Musk seemingly gave a Nazi salute...twice

Earlier this week, Donald Trump took the oath of office and assumed the presidency. During the inauguration, Elon Musk gave a speech thanking the attendants for supporting Trump and getting him elected, but he also decided to show off a symbol that, for most, is horrendous: the Nazi salute.
The Salute Allegations
While Elon has a litany of problems with him, some of which I have covered before, it is unusual for Musk to be brazen. During his speech, Musk put his hand to his chest before seemingly saluting out to the crowd. While Musk himself denies that he was doing a Nazi salute, the fact remains that he did this salute twice. After the second salute, Musk said, “My heart goes out to you.”
Left-wing commentators were quick to point out that this salute was rather similar, if not identical, to the Nazi salute. In response, left-wing streamer and commentator Hasan Piker wrote, “Did Elon Musk just hit the Roman salute at his inauguration speech?” Two left-wing groups reacted to the salute by plastering a still image projection of Elon making the salute over Tesla’s gigafactory in Berlin with the phrase, “Hail Tesla.”
Others, such as the Anti-Defamation League, have come to defend Elon, arguing that Elon “… made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute…” Needless to say, that argument seems to be operating on shaky ground.
Elon’s Defense is Shaky
Elon’s response to the controversy has been dismissive at best and smug at worst. In a post, Musk denied that he was making the salute in reference to Hitler and the Nazi Party, saying that his political opponents needed “…better dirty tricks.”
While it is difficult to ascertain Musk’s intentions, it is worth noting that the CEO is known for his right-wing conspiracism and trolling. Since he purchased Twitter for over $ 40 million, Musk has supported and carried water for the far-right. In May of last year, Musk publicly announced that he would reinstate far-right Neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes on Twitter.
Fuentes is a far-right Holocaust denier who has publicly called for the death of Jewish people in America. In a 2023 speech, Fuentes stated, “We have God on our side…They [Jewish People] will go down with their Satanic master. They have no future in America. The enemies of Christ have no future in this world."
The Anti-Defamation League itself, which defends Musk’s alleged salute, also notes that Fuentes is a Nazi, pointing out that “In one Tweet, Fuentes stated, “Our civilization is being dismantled, our people are being genocided, and conservatives can’t think past what will play well with liberal media in the next election.”
Suppose Elon is willing to allow this openly antisemitic Neo-Nazi to reach half a million people on his site. In that case, there should be no question that he is willing to, at the very least, engage in dog whistles to spread his noxious ideology.
And it isn’t just Nick Fuentes that Elon has provided support to. As I noted previously, Elon has publicly stated his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), asserting that only they can save Germany. In my piece explaining Elon’s support for the AfD, I noted that:
The Alternative for Germany, more commonly known as the AFD, is a far-right political party in Germany. It was founded in 2013 in reaction to the Eurozone crisis.6 Since then, it has moved further to the right on issues of immigration and the rights of Muslims in Germany. More importantly, it has shifted its stance on issues surrounding the memory of the Nazi regime.
On several occasions, members of the AFD have taken heat for its use of Nazi slogans or making comments downplaying the severity of the Nazi regime. In one instance, AFD politician Björn Höcke, was convicted of using a Nazi slogan.7 This was not the first time Mr. Höcke has run into trouble for his rhetoric surrounding the Nazis and their slogans. In May of this year, Höcke was fined 13,000 euros or roughly $14,000 for using the phrase “Everything for Germany.” The phrase is particularly concerning in Germany, as it was part of the official phrase of the SA, Hitler’s Stormtroopers.8 9
Elon supporting this group is not an accident, nor is permitting Nick Fuentes back on Twitter. Musk has spread antisemitic conspiracy theories about the great replacement, supported the Islamaphobic Geert Wilders’ anti-immigrant propaganda, created an explosion of racism online, and is now asking the American public to believe that what we saw with our own eyes isn’t real.
Whether or not Elon intentionally did a Nazi salute isn’t really the point. The painful reality is that an oligarchic, far-right propagandist has control of one of the largest social media platforms in the world. If anything, Elon merely ripped off his mask, and now he will be influencing government policy for the next four years. It’s going to be four long years.