Neo-Nazi groups are expressing their elation over Elon Musk’s performance during a speech to a massive crowd of President Donald Trump supporters on Monday, in which he made two gestures reminiscent of Nazi salutes.
“Elections come and go, some are significant, some are not, but this one truly counted,” Musk stated during his address at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC, mere hours after Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. “And I just want to extend my gratitude for making it happen. Thank you.”
At this moment, Musk placed his right hand over his heart before extending it outward with his palm facing down and fingers together—a gesture widely recognized as the “Roman salute.” This salute, which was adopted by the fascist movement over a century ago, is most infamously associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, and continues to be linked with far-right ideologies, especially in Italy.
After executing the gesture once, Musk turned to the audience behind him and, with his back to the camera, repeated the motion.
“My heart is with you,” Musk continued.
Musk later posted a clip of his speech on X, but the segment where he performs the first salute is edited out, transitioning to a shot of the audience before returning to show him making the second salute.
Musk, X, and the Trump administration did not reply immediately to inquiries for comment.
The response from the neo-Nazi community worldwide was swift and unanimous.
“Incredible things are happening already,” wrote Andrew Torba, the founder of Gab—a social media platform that attracts antisemites and white supremacists—alongside a photo of Musk executing the salute.
“The entire neo-Nazi movement seems to be reveling in it,” noted Nick Martin, an investigative journalist who monitors extremist organizations and manages the online publication, The Informant. “He made two unmistakable Nazi salutes, and they received the message loud and clear.”
“WE ARE BACK” proclaimed the administrator of a Nazi meme channel on Telegram beneath a video of Musk performing the salute. Respondents in the group used the lightning bolt emoji—a notorious neo-Nazi symbol referencing the SS.
“Whether this was an error or not, I’m going to relish the fallout from it,” commented Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the American neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, on his Telegram channel, alongside a gif of Musk’s salute.
Keith Woods, a well-known far-right influencer from Ireland who has frequently praised Musk, reacted by writing on X: “OK, perhaps woke really is finished.”
Evan Kilgore, a right-wing political commentator, posted on X: “Holy cow … did Elon Musk just give a Hitler salute at the Trump Inauguration Rally in Washington DC… This is astonishing.” Kilgore later added: “We are definitely back.”
Kilgore, a Holocaust denier, has served as an ambassador for Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. The conservative organization hosted a pre-inauguration ball the previous evening featuring JD Vance, who was inaugurated as vice president today, and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son.
In recent years, Musk has aligned himself with far-right ideologies and figures globally, including the jailed Islamophobic activist Tommy Robinson in the UK. Most recently, he has advocated for the German far-right political party Alternative for Germany. During an hour-long interview with the party’s leader Alice Weidel earlier this month, Musk endorsed the bizarre conspiracy theory that Hitler was a communist.
