Elon Musk salute controversy

On January 20, 2025, while speaking at a rally celebrating U.S. president Donald Trump's second inauguration, businessman and political figure Elon Musk twice made a salute interpreted by some as a Nazi or a fascist Roman salute.^[a]

Multiple European political parties demanded that Musk be banned from entering their countries. Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups celebrated the salutes.^[3] On his own social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), Musk dismissed the accusations of Nazi sympathies, derided them as being politicized,^[4]^[5]^[3] and described them as a "tired" attack.^[6]^[7] The Anti-Defamation League defended Musk and argued that the gesture carried no significant meaning, but other Jewish organizations have condemned the gesture.^[8]

^ "Elon Musk's gesture at Trump rally draws scrutiny". BBC News. January 20, 2025. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
^ Winkler, Martin M. (2009). The Roman Salute: Cinema, History, Ideology. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8142-0864-9.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Condon-2025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Gerken-2025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Wickman, Kase (January 21, 2025). "Elon Musk Sure Isn't Denying That His Inaugural Gesture Was a Nazi Salute". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. ISSN 0733-8899. OCLC 8356733. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
^ Fortinsky, Sarah (January 21, 2025). "Musk on salute blowback: 'Frankly, they need better dirty tricks'". The Hill. Nexstar Media Group. ISSN 1521-1568. OCLC 31153202. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
^ Bennhold, Katrin (January 25, 2025) [January 24, 2025]. "What Elon Musk's Salute Was All About". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
^ Miller, Jaylan (January 20, 2025). "JCPA Condemns Elon Musk's Fascist Salute at Trump Inauguration Rally". Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Retrieved February 15, 2025.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] "Elon Musk's gesture at Trump rally draws scrutiny". BBC News. January 20, 2025. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[2] Winkler, Martin M. (2009). The Roman Salute: Cinema, History, Ideology. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8142-0864-9.

[Condon-2025-4] Cite error: The named reference Condon-2025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Gerken-2025-5] Cite error: The named reference Gerken-2025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] Wickman, Kase (January 21, 2025). "Elon Musk Sure Isn't Denying That His Inaugural Gesture Was a Nazi Salute". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. ISSN 0733-8899. OCLC 8356733. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[Fortinsky-2025a-7] Fortinsky, Sarah (January 21, 2025). "Musk on salute blowback: 'Frankly, they need better dirty tricks'". The Hill. Nexstar Media Group. ISSN 1521-1568. OCLC 31153202. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[Bennhold-2025-8] Bennhold, Katrin (January 25, 2025) [January 24, 2025]. "What Elon Musk's Salute Was All About". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[9] Miller, Jaylan (January 20, 2025). "JCPA Condemns Elon Musk's Fascist Salute at Trump Inauguration Rally". Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Retrieved February 15, 2025.

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