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A video showing US tech billionaire Elon Musk's one-armed gesture during a speech at a Donald Trump rally on Monday has gone viral, with internet users comparing it to a Nazi salute.
"This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization," Musk, a close ally of Trump, said.
"This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you," he said as he thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, and extended his right arm out at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together.
He then made the same gesture to the crowd behind him.
"My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," Musk said after the gesture.
DO NOT BELIEVE THE MEDIA
The media is misleading you. Elon Musk never did a Nazi salute. Watch the full video: He simply gestured and said, “Thank you, my heart goes out to you.” pic.twitter.com/e3vBaLoVqx
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) January 20, 2025
After his speech, he also posted a video clip of portions of his speech on his social media site X and wrote, "The future is so exciting."
Many users linked his gesture to the Nazi salutes.
"Elon Musk gave two back to back Nazi salutes at the Trump inauguration parade," a user wrote on X.
Some users, however, said that Musk was expressing "my heart goes out to you".
"Elon Musk just last year travelled to Auschwitz and then Israel to learn about the Holocaust and Jewish history. Anyone trying to portray him as a Nazi is intentionally misleading the public. It was a stupid hand gesture, not an intentional Nazi salute," a user wrote.
Elon Musk just last year traveled with Ben Shapiro to Auschwitz and then Israel to learn about the Holocaust and Jewish history.
Anyone trying to portray him as a Nazi is intentionally misleading the public. It was a stupid hand gesture, not an intentional Nazi salute. pic.twitter.com/rUOZ0HWHNR
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 20, 2025
More than one million people died at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp built by Nazi Germany when it occupied Poland in World War II.
A user also posted pictures of former US president Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who ran unsuccessfully against Trump in 2016, making similar gestures.
I can't take some of you people seriously anymore. I swear, some of you are just looking for negativity in everything. 🤣 Elon Musk, who has Asperger's and is on the autism spectrum, was simply excited and being goofy—yet some are claiming he did a Nazi salute. If that's the… pic.twitter.com/S3z0svALgN
— DEL (@delinthecity_) January 20, 2025
The row over his gesture comes against the backdrop of Musk backing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), an anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party labeled as right-wing-extremist by German security services, in an upcoming national election.