Elon Musk's Nazi salute at Trump's rally sparks outrage and debate on social media

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is at the center of a fierce controversy after he made gestures with his right hand in the air during a rally after Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. These gestures, captured on video, resembled Nazi salutes, which caused a wave of condemnation and discussion on social media and the media, Gizmodo reports.

During his brief speech, Musk thanked supporters for Trump's re-election, saying: "This one really mattered. And I just want to say thank you for making it happen." Musk put his right hand on his chest and then held it up, repeating the gesture to the crowd behind him. He ended his words with the phrase: "My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured."

Video from the event, including footage from Reuters and Getty Images, clearly shows that Musk's gestures resemble Nazi salutes widely known since the 1930s and 40s. However, some mainstream media avoided directly describing these gestures as Nazi. NBC News reported that Musk "then forcefully touched his heart, before raising his hand and saluting supporters" while The New York Times did not mention the gestures at all, focusing instead on Musk's comments about his companies.

A wave of outrage and bewilderment erupted on social media. Many users expressed concern about the symbolism demonstrated during Trump's inauguration.

Messages with words like "what?" and sarcastic jokes about gestures were common among the discussions.

The well-known YouTuber JerryRigEverything, commenting on Musk's gesture, wrote on his X page: "I currently own 4 different Tesla vehicles.

by the end of 2025 i will own zero Tesla vehicles."

Some commentators have called the gesture the "Roman salute," which historically predates the Nazi regime. Since the 1940s, however, the gesture has been almost exclusively associated with the Nazis.

Musk himself shared a video of his speech at X, but did not comment on the controversy surrounding the gestures.

The incident was welcomed by extreme right-wing extremist groups, who perceived the gestures as intentional and in line with their ideologies. Meanwhile, critics, including human rights activists and political observers, expressed deep concern about the possible normalization of fascist symbols in public discourse.

So far, Musk has not clarified his intentions or commented on the growing wave of criticism, leaving many with questions about the meaning of the gesture made by one of the most influential people in the tech world and now in US politics.