Elon Musk has hit back at contentious suggestions that he made a ‘Nazi salute’ during US President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
The controversy was sparked by British comedian Jimmy Carr in a video uploaded to X, where he scrutinised Musk’s arm raise while addressing the crowd at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena, as Trump was being sworn into office.
Carr, who has 6.4 million followers on the platform, posed the provocative question during his stand-up act. “Did you watch the inauguration? So people are saying that Elon Musk did a Nazi salute. And all the debate online is – is Elon Musk a Nazi? Is Elon Musk autistic?” He went on to jest: “Can’t he be both? “.
Asserting his stance, the comic disclosed: “There’s a lot of crossover – autistics and Nazis. They both love trains.”
But then clarified, adamantly: “For the record, Elon Musk is not a f***ing Nazi. It’s just the internet goes ‘he’s a Nazi’ almost immediately. He’s a f***ing genius. And Neal Brennan, my friend, pointed this out brilliantly in his last special, Crazy Good, if you’re a genius, there’s a little Salt Bae of f***ing crazy that comes with it. And he’s maybe a little bit crazy, but he’s not a f***ing Nazi.”, reports the Mirror.
Thinking back to his encounter with billionaire and X owner Musk, Carr remarked: “He’s alright, I’ve met him, he was a very nice fella. Great sense of humour. I tell you what, I’ll prove it. I’ll post this on X and we won’t have a problem.”
He light-heartedly added: “I f***ing hope! If I disappear though, you know who did it.”
Indicating his approval, Musk, the 53 year old Tesla and SpaceX mogul, acknowledged Carr’s post by responding with a laughing face complete with tears emoji.
During Trump’s presidential ceremony on January 20, Musk caused a stir when he placed his hand on his chest and then extended his arm outwards with an open palm. Onlookers were quick to interpret this as a fascist salute, reminiscent of those used by Nazis in homage to Adolf Hitler.
Curiosity and conjecture took over on Musk’s own platform X, as users debated the intent behind his actions. One inquired: “Did Elon Musk just do a Hitler salute? ” Another expressed alarm: “Holy s**t, elon musk just did the nazi salute on tv… at the president’s inauguration…” A third comment read: “Elon Musk casually doing a Hitler salute in front of millions. Right.”
Meanwhile, some defended the motion as a heartfelt gesture towards the audience.
After the allegations surfaced, a Twitter account named ‘The Rabbit Hole’ reposted one of Elon Musk’s old tweets from before the US election.
In the original post, Musk mentioned: “In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division and hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold … “.
The Rabbit Hole linked the “salute hoax” to the “another part of the ‘dirty tricks campaign'” Musk had previously warned about. Musk then shared the post, adding: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
