Wait… Did Musk Really Just Do That?

Don't say we didn't warn you.

What an image, hey? With the face and everything.

I couldn’t care less about Donald Trump’s inauguration. To me, it feels like watching your friend agree to get back together with their domestically abusive partner who nearly killed them just because they said sorry. WHy would I subject myself to that? But I was still shocked when I woke up, read the news, and discovered that Musk had pulled a Kanye — that is, saying the quiet part out loud. Or rather, fucking screaming it! If you couldn’t gather from the title image and the news, Elon Musk performed back-to-back Nazi salutes at Trump’s inauguration during his speech, which was followed up by the outspoken cheers of the crowd. How the fuck do we unpack this mess?

Let’s start with the obvious question: Was it actually a Nazi salute? Or did it just resemble one? Well, take a look for yourself!

Yeah, that looks like two clear Sieg Heils to me.

However, the media struggled to label it as such for a little while, and I’m not particularly surprised. It is deeply shocking, and it’s not like reporters aren’t painfully aware that calling Musk a Nazi could open them and their networks up to a defamation lawsuit from the infamously litigious Musk himself. But, whether it’s the natural result of this media silence or the influence of other ideologies, there has been a growing murmur of people claiming this isn’t a Nazi salute or that it wasn’t what Musk intended to do all along.

So, how have people tried to justify this act?

I have already seen people claim that Musk’s autism is why he mistakenly made gestures that resembled such a salute. As a man with a similar level of autism to Musk, I can happily call bullshit on this twisted notion. Yes, we can struggle with social and communication skills, but not in this manner at all, and to suggest otherwise is maligning neurodivergent people. Furthermore, in my opinion, as an autistic person, you can clearly see Musk emotionally prepare himself for the salute and witness the release of dopamine and relaxation when he is cheered, which is a classic pattern of planned communication from an autistic person. He knew what he was doing.

I have also seen claims that he didn’t know what such a gesture means, which is an act of mental gymnastics that deserves a gold medal! Let’s not forget Israel forced him to visit Auschwitz to apologise for spreading neo-Nazi material.

In fact, I suspect that people warning him not to enact such a salute actually tempted him into doing it. I know people who have hung around right-wing extremists like Musk’s new best friend, Tommy Robinson. These right-wing groups constantly remind their members not to wave or even clap during public events and instead use a fist of solidarity (the irony), as this prevents the press from obtaining images that look like they have saluted, protecting them from media beration. Such advice would have surely been given to Musk.