Elon Musk ignited speculation and chatter online when he made a hand gesture twice during a speech celebrating President Donald Trump on Monday.
Speaking at a celebratory rally at the Capital One Arena in Washington hours after Trump was sworn in as president, Musk thanked the crowd for choosing Trump during “a fork in the road of human civilization.”
Musk, who leads Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, and who backed Trump last year during his presidential campaign, added, “I just want to say thank you for making it happen — thank you.”
The billionaire then grunted and placed his hand to his heart before extending his arm out above his head with his palm facing down. After he turned around, he repeated the motion to those behind him.
Elon Musk is currently speaking at Trump’s Presidential parade in DC.
He’s PUMPED pic.twitter.com/f1OP1lvD6c
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 20, 2025
On CNN, commentators pointed out Musk’s gesture. Erin Burnett, an anchor, noted how striking the action was. The motion soon drew comparisons online to the salute popularized by Adolf Hitler, and others interpreted it as a Roman salute, which is also known as the “fascist salute” and was later adopted by the Nazis. The Nazi variation of the gesture is illegal in some European countries, including Germany.
“Did elon musk just hit the roman salute at his inauguration speech?” Hasan Piker, a popular streamer, asked on X.
Musk, 53, did not respond to an email for comment.
After making the gestures, Musk continued his speech. He spoke with enthusiasm about “safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending” and the promise of bringing humanity to Mars.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk said, placing his hand over his heart. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
Kimbal Musk, Musk’s younger brother, later posted on X that it was “the best speech” of Musk’s life.
“Well done!” Kimbal Musk wrote, sharing a video of the speech. “This is what success feels like.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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