Musk Faces Accusations of Nazi Salute During Trump Inauguration

Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur, has come under fire for performing back-to-back hand movements imitating the Nazi salute during a speech celebrating Donald Trump's presidential inauguration.

Musk praised the outcome of the November 4 presidential election as "no ordinary victory" in an address to Trump supporters hours after the Republican was inaugurated as the 47th US president on Monday.

"This was a fork in the road of human civilization," Musk stated at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

"This one was significant. Thank you for making this happen! "Thank you."

Musk then pounded his right hand against his chest before raising his arm in an upward angle, palm down and fingers together.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, tasked with running Trump's administration's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, then spun around and repeated the motion to the audience behind him.

Musk's antics sparked quick criticism online, with some social media users accusing him of performing the infamous Sieg Heil salute linked with Adolf Hitler.

"This honestly could not look more like a Nazi salute," wrote British journalist and pundit Owen Jones in a post on X.

The gesture also garnered scrutiny in Israeli media, with Haaretz reporting that Musk appeared to complete his statements with a "'Roman salute,' a fascist salute most commonly associated with Nazi Germany".

'It's Not a Nazi Salute'

Others defended Musk, including The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the most recognized organizations fighting anti-Semitism.

The New York-based organization, which calls itself the "leading anti-hate organization in the world" but has received criticism for confusing anti-Israelism with anti-Semitism, claimed the billionaire appeared to have performed an "awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute".

"At this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath," the ADL wrote in a message to X.

"This marks a new beginning. Let us hope for healing and work for togetherness in the following months and years.

Al Jazeera did not immediately obtain a response to demands for comment made to Musk's lawyer and many of his companies.

Musk's politics have turned drastically to the right after he publicly supported Trump following the Republican's narrow escape from assassination in July.

Earlier this month, the billionaire invited Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany, to a conversation on his social media platform X after endorsing her party in the February national elections.