Elon Musk at Trump’s inauguration: What’s the history of the Nazi salute? 

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk’s hand gesture during a speech on United States President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day has drawn widespread criticism and comparisons to a Nazi salute.

The owner of X and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla appeared at a rally for Trump’s supporters on Monday at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

“This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilisation,” Musk said during his speech.

“This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you,” he said.

Musk then touched the left side of his chest with his right hand and extended his arm upward, repeating the motion to the crowd behind him.

“My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilisation is assured,” he said as he finished the gesture.

Many took to social media to condemn the action, describing it as reminiscent of a Nazi salute used by supporters of German dictator Adolf Hitler.

Musk slammed the criticism and wrote on X that “the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

Here’s what we know about the salute, its history and why Musk’s gesture has sparked controversy:

What’s the response to Musk’s salute?

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and fascism at New York University, wrote on X that the gesture was a “Nazi salute – and a very belligerent one too”.

But the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which tracks anti-Semitism, disagreed with claims that Musk had performed a Nazi salute and instead said the tech mogul had made an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm”.

Aaron Astor, a history professor at Maryville College in Tennessee, supported the ADL’s position and said on X that it was “not a Nazi salute”.

“This is a socially awkward autistic man’s wave to the crowd where he says ‘my heart goes out to you,'” he added.

However, Musk’s actions appear to have enthused neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups.

Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Christopher Pohlhaus, leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, posted the video of Musk making the gesture on Telegram with the caption: “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.”

What is the history behind the gesture?

The Nazi salute, also known as the Heil Hitler salute, consisting of an outstretched right arm with the palm down, was used as an official greeting in Nazi Germany.

But the gesture dates back to a salute that is said to have been used in ancient Rome.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who aimed to restore the country to imperial Rome, adopted the gesture in 1925.

By 1926, the gesture was being used by members of the Nazi party in Germany, and its use was made compulsory within the party.

What is the Bellamy salute?

In 1892, American Christian minister Francis Bellamy wrote the US Pledge of Allegiance to boost patriotism.

As the pledge quickly became popular, a magazine called the Youth Companion, where Bellamy worked, decided to create a salute to go with the words.

Named the Bellamy salute, it consisted of a straight right arm angled slightly upward and a faced-down palm.

The salute continued to be used across the US with no controversy until World War II when the US entered the war against the axis powers, including Germany and Italy.

With discomfort growing in the US that the Bellamy salute could be misinterpreted as pledging allegiance to Hitler and Mussolini, the US Congress amended the Flag Code in December 1942, changing the salute to placing a right hand over the heart.

Where is the Nazi salute banned?

Shortly after World War II, Germany banned the salute and any displays of Nazi insignia, which are punishable by three years in prison.

Austria also passed laws against the Nazi party and insignia shortly after the war.

In January 2024, Australia banned the Nazi salute, Nazi swastika and double lightning bolt insignia associated with the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary group under Hitler.

In Canada, France and Switzerland, Nazi gestures can be considered hate speech.

However, in the US, salutes are not banned due to the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects freedom of speech and gives significant protections to hate speech.

Musk in the past has been accused of being soft on anti-Semitism.

In 2023, Musk endorsed a post on X that accused Jews of hating white people, describing that claim as the “actual truth”.

The ADL slammed Musk’s post, calling it “profoundly disturbing” that Musk engaged with a “highly toxic, antisemitic campaign on his platform”.

Musk later stated that he and X were opposed to all forms of anti-Semitism.

However, in recent months, Musk has backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in February’s general election. In May, AfD leader Bjorn Hocke was fined for saying, “Everything for Germany!” in a speech in 2021, a slogan used by Nazi paramilitary forces and now banned in the country.

Musk has also backed the British far-right, anti-immigration party Reform UK. Before the United Kingdom’s general election in July, a Reform UK candidate came under fire after he claimed that the country would have been “far better” if it had taken Hitler’s “offer of neutrality” and not got involved in World War II.

Musk is also close friends with right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was once a youth leader of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement.