Elon Musk’s Salute at Trump’s Inauguration: Was It a Nazi Gesture?
Elon Musk made a post-inauguration speech after Donald Trump was sworn into office on Monday, January 20, 2025. The Tesla CEO made an arm gesture that many viewers believed was the “Sieg Heil” Nazi salute, but was it actually the infamous gesture?
While taking the podium at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., Elon began his speech by saying, “This is what victory feels like. And this was no ordinary victory.”
“This was a fork in the road of human civilization,” the billionaire said. “There are elections that come and go. Some elections are, you know, important, some are not. But … this one really matters, and I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured. Thanks to you. We’re going to have safe cities finally. Safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending. Basic stuff. And we’re going to take those to Mars. I mean, Can you imagine? How awesome it will be to have American astronauts plant the flag on another planet for the first time?”
Closing his speech by saying he “loves” the supporters, Elon vowed that he will “work his ass off” for the American people.
“I really will,” he insisted, before adding, “I’m super fired up for the future. It’s gonna be very exciting. As the president said, we’re gonna have a golden age. It’s gonna be fantastic.”
Did Elon Musk Really Do a Nazi Salute at the 2025 Inauguration?
According to countless videos and pictures of Elon during his inauguration speech, he held up an outstretched arm to the crowd, which some think was the “Sieg Heil” mannerism that Nazis would use. Even a few on-air reporters from different networks pointed out that it was an unusual gesture.
However, Elon hit his heart and extended his arm to the audience as a gesture to thank them. He has not yet publicly commented on the Nazi salute rumors.
Is Elon Musk a Republican?
Elon is neither a Democrat or a Republican, he has noted in the past. In 2018, the chairman of X tweeted that he was a registered Independent.
“To be clear, I am not a conservative. Am registered independent & politically moderate,” Elon tweeted at the time. “Doesn’t mean I’m moderate about all issues. Humanitarian issues are extremely important to me & I don’t understand why they are not important to everyone.”
Four years later, Elon tweeted that he had voted for Democrats in the past but was planning on voting Republican in the future.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” he wrote in 2022. “But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.”
