Did Elon Musk give a Nazi salute or send hearts? What the experts say

Elon Musk stood out during Donald Trump’s inauguration by making a gesture on stage resembling a Nazi salute. If some maintain that it is a fascist act, others qualify and recall the context.

The right arm raised, hand outstretched and palm open, after placing the hand on the heart. What did Elon Musk mean by making this gesture during the meeting at the Capital One Arena in Washington, following the inauguration of Donald Trump this Monday, January 20? For some the gesture is clear: it is an assumed Nazi salute.

Several American elected Democrats seized on the video sequence and accused the boss of Tesla and SpaceX of having voluntarily made this fascist gesture. The elected left-wing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez castigated “a ‘Heil Hitler’ salute performed and repeated”, while a former Democratic elected representative of the House of Representatives, Cori Bush, estimated that the billionaire had to train for a long time detecting a strong emotional commitment in the movement: “It seems as if he had kept it inside him for a while and was finally able to let go. As if he had practiced in front of the mirror to find the corner exact”.

Numerous criticisms relayed on networks, including that belonging to Elon Musk. The billionaire therefore reacted on He firmly denies any Nazi allusion in his gesture.

But it is not only the Democratic camp that sees in this raised arm a reproduction of the Nazi salute, several historians specializing in the subject confirm the resemblance of the gesture. “It was indeed a Nazi salute, and one that was very aggressive on top of that,” claimed on X Ruth Ben-Ghiat, expert historian of fascism. Another analysis and the same observation: the historian Claire Aubin, who is a specialist in Nazism in the United States, considers BFMTV that Elon Musk’s gesture is indeed a “sieg heil”. Quoted by the Israeli newspaper Haaretzother experts speak of “an obvious fascist salute”.

The hypothesis of clumsiness

While some claim that Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute, others assure that the richest man in the world only made an awkward gesture when greeting the crowd and relate to the context of the sequence. Taking the stage to congratulate Donald Trump and thank Americans for voting for the Republican, Elon Musk thanks the spectators as he extends his right arm towards them after placing it on his heart. He does this gesture twice. Some therefore see the expression of awkward thanks.

This is the thesis supported by the historian Aaron Astor who estimates onthis gesture is not a Nazi salute, [mais] a socially awkward hand signal from an autistic man [qui] told the crowd ‘my heart goes out to you'”. The expert has been very critical of Elon Musk in the past, regularly criticizing the boss ofneo-Nazis pollute this platform”, but believes in this case to see a manifestation of Asperger’s syndrome from which the billionaire suffers.

More surprising, the ADL association which fights against anti-Semitism and has several times risen against Elon Musk adheres to the hypothesis of clumsiness: “It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm , not a Nazi salute,” the organization wrote on X.

Another personality critical of Elon Musk qualifies the analysis on Elon Musk’s considered Nazi gesture: the conspiracy specialist and founder of the Conspiracy Observatory which works with several media, Tristan Mendès France. “Be careful of the hype over Musk’s supposed fascist salute. The entire sequence appears to show him sending hearts, which he says right after. Let’s avoid giving misinformation people the opportunity to correct us,” he writes on calling for caution.

History with fascist figures

Between the hypothesis of sending hearts and that of a Nazi salute, one seems to be gaining ground helped by previous positions taken by Elon Musk. In recent weeks, the billionaire has several times expressed his support for the AfD, a far-right German party, which is regularly affiliated with an ideology close to neo-Nazism in the media, without this proximity being claimed or officially recognized. Elon Musk’s proximity to other far-right political forces including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the anti-immigration British party Reform UK has also been singled out. And many leaders or representatives of international far-right parties were present at Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The American magazine Wired also noted that several personalities from the extreme right were delighted by the gestures of the boss of SpaceX. Reactions which give weight to the thesis of the Nazi gesture and undermine the defense of Elon Musk.