Billionaire Elon Musk’s hand gesture during a speech at a celebration of U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute. However, a leading tracker of anti-Semitism said it appeared to be a moment of enthusiasm rather than a deliberate salute.
Musk dismissed the criticism as a "tired" attack.
Speaking at Washington’s Capital One Arena to loud cheers, Musk pumped his arms and shouted, "Yesssss."
"This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization," he said. "This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you."
Biting his bottom lip, Musk thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, then extended his right arm upward, palm down and fingers together. He then turned and made the same gesture toward the crowd behind him.
"Did Elon Musk Sieg Heil at Trump’s inauguration?" asked the Jerusalem Post.
The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks anti-Semitism, disagreed.
"It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge," the group posted on Monday.
"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired," Musk said on his social media platform X late Monday.
After the speech, Musk posted a Fox video clip of portions of his speech on X, which cut away from the podium when he made the first gesture while facing the cameras. "The future is so exciting," he wrote above it.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some X users defended Musk, claiming that he was expressing "my heart goes out to you" and criticizing posts that suggested otherwise.
Musk has supported 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. He hosted a broadcast with the party’s leader on his social media platform earlier this month.
