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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 and extended the arm out at an upward angle with his 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
Musk, however, dismissed the criticism.
"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired," he posted on his social media platform X.
Frankly, they need better dirty tricks.
The “everyone is Hitler” attack is sooo tired 😴 https://t.co/9fIqS5mWA0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2025
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian, said the gesture "was a Nazi salute -- and a very belligerent one too".
Claire Aubin, a historian who specializes in Nazism within the US, also said Musk's gesture was a "sieg heil," or Nazi salute.
"My professional opinion is that you're all right, you should believe your eyes," she posted on X, aligning with those who found the gesture was an overt reference to Nazis.
"Musk Made Awkward Gesture, Not A Nazi Salute"
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization founded to combat anti-Semitism that has criticized Elon Musk in the past, defended his gesture.
"It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute," the organization posted on X.
This is a delicate moment. It's a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.
It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on…
— ADL (@ADL) January 20, 2025
Aaron Astor, another historian, also backed Musk.
"I have criticized Elon Musk many times for letting neo-Nazis pollute this platform," he wrote on X, adding: "But this gesture is not a Nazi salute."
A user also pointed out that Musk last year had travelled to Auschwitz, the Nazis' largest concentration camp where more than one million people died.
"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," he wrote on X.
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
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 party labeled as right-wing-extremist by German security services, in an upcoming national election.