Musk accused of giving Nazi salute during Trump inauguration celebrations

Anti-Defamation League defends tech billionaire for making ‘awkward motion successful a infinitesimal of enthusiasm’.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has travel nether occurrence aft making back-to-back manus gestures resembling the Nazi salute during a code celebrating the statesmanlike inauguration of Donald Trump.

Addressing Trump supporters hours aft the Republican was inaugurated arsenic the 47th US president connected Monday, Musk hailed the result of the US statesmanlike predetermination connected November 4 arsenic “no mean victory”.

“This was a fork successful the roadworthy of quality civilization,” Musk said astatine the Capital One Arena successful Washington, DC.

“This 1 truly mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you.”

Musk past thumped his close manus into his thorax earlier extending his limb successful an upward space with his thenar down and fingers together.

Wait, did Musk conscionable bash a Nazi salute? pic.twitter.com/VZChlQXSYv

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 20, 2025

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who has been tasked with starring the alleged Department of Government Efficiency successful Trump’s administration, past turned astir to look the assemblage down him and repeated the gesture.

Musk’s actions drew contiguous scrutiny online, with immoderate societal media users accusing him of giving the infamous Sieg Heil salute associated with Adolf Hitler.

“This honestly could not look much similar a Nazi salute,” British writer and commentator Owen Jones said successful a station connected X.

The motion besides drew scrutiny successful Israeli media, with the paper Haaretz saying Musk appeared to reason his remarks with a “‘Roman salute,’ a fascist salute astir commonly associated with Nazi Germany”.

Others defended Musk, including The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 1 of the astir salient organisations dedicated to opposing anti-Semitism, which said the billionaire had made an “awkward motion successful a infinitesimal of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute”.

“In this moment, each sides should springiness 1 different a spot of grace, possibly adjacent the payment of the doubt, and instrumentality a breath,” the ADL said successful a station connected X.

“This is simply a caller beginning. Let’s anticipation for healing and enactment toward unity successful the months and years ahead.”

Al Jazeera did not instantly person a effect to requests for remark sent to Musk’s lawyer and a fig of his companies.

Musk’s authorities person shifted sharply close since helium publically came retired successful enactment of Trump aft the Republican narrowly survived an attempted assassination successful July.

Earlier this month, the billionaire hosted Alice Weidel, the person of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany, for a speech connected his societal media level X aft endorsing her enactment successful February’s nationalist elections.