Elon Musk has spoken out after being accused of giving a ‘Nazi salute’ during Donald Trump’s inauguration.
On Monday (January 20), Donald Trump was officially sworn into the White House as the 47th President of the United States and for his second term since 2021.
The President made a raft of promises during his inauguration speech as he vowed the ‘golden age of America begins’ with his term.
However, during his inauguration celebration, the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, Musk, appeared to make a ‘Nazi salute’ in the Capitol One Arena, Washington, ahead of the Inauguration Day parade.
Musk made the awkward gesture inside the Capitol One Arena during the inauguration (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
The 53-year-old appeared to be thrilled about the prospect of sending a man to Mars and planting an American flag, during which the Twitter owner thumped his chest and shot his right arm out towards the sky.
The billionaire tech mogul commented: “Thank you for making it happen. Thank you, my heart goes out to you,” before turning back to the audience and repeating the bizarre gesture towards the American flag.
The move sparked controversy online with many describing the gesture as akin to a fascist salute or ‘odd-looking’, such as CNN anchors, Erin Burnett and Kasie Hunt, reports The Independent.
Hunt noted the move was ‘evocative of things that we have seen through history’ and ‘not something you typically see at American rallies’.
Others on Twitter accused Musk of making a ‘Sieg Heil’ as ‘clear as day’, while others said the move was indefensible and couldn’t have been a mistake or accident seen as as he ‘did it twice’.
However, the Anti-Defamation League, the antisemitism watchdog, has since defended Musk, writing on Twitter: “It seems that [Musk] make an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people on on edge.”The statement added: “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.
“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
US Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez snapped back to the New York-based group: “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.
“People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.”
What has Elon Musk said about the gesture?
Now, Musk himself appears to have spoken out amid the backlash, writing in response that Ocasio-Cortex has ‘just 100 percent lost her marbles’.
Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term yesterday (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
Another user jumped to his defense, writing: “Can we please retire the calling people a Nazi thing? It didn’t work during the election, it’s not working now, it’s tired, boring, and old material, you’ve burned out its effect, people don’t feel shocked by it anymore, the wolf has been cried too many times.”
Musk responded with a ‘yeah exactly’ and a yawn emoji.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,” he wrote in a follow-up. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
Musk was also the subject of social media chatter earlier in the day when Trump commented on America’s goal to send a person to Mars, during which Musk gave an enthusiastic thumbs up next to a less-than-impressed Barron Trump.