Neo-Nazis worldwide celebrate Musk's raised right arm, critics warn extremism is being normalized, activists project "Heil" onto a Tesla factory in Germany
The gesture of raising his right arm which Elon Musk made during his appearance at a celebration of the inauguration of US President Trump has sparked a widespread international response. Neo-Nazi groups in Europe and the USA are celebrating his gesture as symbolizing "the end of woke culture", while critics and experts are warning of its similarity to a Nazi salute.
Activists even projected the phrase “Heil Tesla” onto a Tesla factory near Berlin, Germany, expressing their disagreement with Musk, who owns that company. “I just want to thank you all for making it happen,” Musk told Trump’s adherents, who filled the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on inauguration day.
Musk then thumped his chest with his right hand and thrust his right arm upward at an angle with the palm facing down and the fingers straightened. “My heart goes out to you,” added the billionaire as he turned around to face another part of the audience and repeated the gesture.
The gesticulation immediately drew the attention of the media and social media users who called it a Nazi salute. Musk reacted to the criticism on his X social media site (previously known as Twitter), saying the accusations are “dirty tricks” and the comparison to Hitler, “tired”.
On the other hand, ultra-right commentators have been celebrating the gesture. “Maybe woke really is dead,” white nationalist Keith Woods wrote on X.
Ultra-right commentator Evan Kilgore posted: “Did Elon Musk seriously just give the Hitler salute right now? We’re really back.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the US, which follows antisemitism and extremism, called Musk’s gesture “awkward” and warned against a rush to judgment. However, some experts on extremism were more direct.
Kurt Braddock of the American University in Washington, D.C. said it was a “fascist salute” and “people should not doubt what they saw.” A similar opinion was also expressed by Efraim Zuroff, the former head of the Jerusalem branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who called the gesture “exceptionally shocking”.
According to Zuroff, it was especially unacceptable for Musk to use the salute on the day the president was being inaugurated. In Europe, where the gesture of a raised right arm is associated with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, the incident sparked outrage.
In both Germany and Italy the fascist salute is banned by law. The Communist Youth organization of Italy even strung up an effigy of Musk upside-down on Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, where the corpse of dictator Benito Mussolini was desecrated that same way in 1945.
In France, more than 80 organizations decided to leave the X social media site on Monday, including human rights groups, media outlets and universities. Spanish Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz also announced she is leaving the site because of Musk’s behavior.
It is not clear whether these individuals and organizations decided to leave X as a direct result of the gesture, or as a consequence of the general direction of the platform under Musk’s management.
“Heil Tesla”: Activists project reference to Nazi salute on Tesla factory
British and German activists from the Center for Political Beauty and Led by Donkeys organizations responded to the incident by projecting a sequence of images onto a Tesla factory near Berlin in protest. Musk’s gesture was captured in footage projected onto the building next to the images of ultra-right politicians, including the boss of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel, whom Musk has supported in her current campaign.
The projection ends with the words “Heil Tesla“, which according to activists symbolizes the danger that Musk poses to democracy in Europe. “Musk has been giving the Nazi salute just like the American neo-Nazis, and his gesture normalizes fascist symbolism,” said the founder of the Center for Political Beauty, Philipp Ruch.
The Tesla factory near Berlin has been targeted for more than one protest. Last November police cleared away an encampment of environmental activists in the vicinity of the factory who were trying to prevent its expansion.
Last March a left-wing group sabotaged the electricity supply to the factory, paralyzing its operations for several days.
