Elon Musk speaks out after being accused of giving ‘Nazi salute’ at Trump inauguration

The prominent figure has been left under fire

Musk sparked controversy yesterday (20 January) when he made what appeared to be a Nazi salute after going up to speak at Trump's inauguration rally

The event saw Trump sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America yesterday afternoon.

The Space X and Tesla owner thanked the crowd for "making it happen", before enthusiastically placing his right and over his hear and flinging his same arm into the air straight in front of him.

The gesture was disturbingly similar to a Sieg Heil that was used as a greeting or salute in Nazi Germany.

The action came as he said: "My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilisation is assured."

Now, Elon Musk has spoken out about the situation, and of course he took to X to do so.

Musk reposted an account which had taken a screenshot of one of his own tweets from May 2022 which read: "In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party.

"But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold…"

Above this screenshot was the caption: "The salute hoax is just another part of the 'dirty tricks campaign'."

Quoting the post, Musk wrote: "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."

Despite this, many have taken to Elon Musk's social media platform to debate the meaning behind the gesture.

Users slammed the billionaire for performing the action while other argued it was merely a misinterpretation.

The re-enactment of the Sieg Heil is illegal in some countries such is its connotations, with Germany, Austria and Slovakia all outlawing the salute.

Musk has had a large involvement in Donald Trump's push for a second term as US President, publicly backing the Republican.

His support was rewarded too, as Trump declared Musk would become lead on a new department to be known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE).