Elon Musk: Salute Controversy

By Charlie Gonzales, Staff Reporter

Courtesy of  Global News Elon Musk responds to accusations he made Nazi salute at Trump inauguration

On Jan 20, Elon Musk made many news headlines about his controversial hand gesture during President Donald Trump's second inauguration. As Musk performed his speech enthusiastically about Trump winning the election, many interpreted it as a Nazi salute.

“Thank you for making it happen, thank you, my heart goes out to you.” Elon Musk said in his speech at the inauguration. 

He then hit his chest and raised his hand. Some left-leaning viewers immediately started accusing Musk of doing a fascist salute, while the conservative side dismissed it, saying they were just political attacks.

"I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal," U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler said on X.  

The Jewish community criticized Musk and urged him to explain or apologize for what he did.

“I think it was partly an unawareness of the magnitude he was doing, also a combination of insensitivity,” senior Rihanna Singh said “I don't know how you can accidentally make that kind of gesture. It just came out of nowhere.”

The debate over Musk's gesture has started a lot of discussion about whether public figures should be held accountable for their actions and what their intentions are.

 As Trump starts his second term, this situation shows how closely people watch public figures. Both sides are sticking to their views, and this reveals how divided Americans are in the way they perceive things, based on their political opinion.