His gesture during his inauguration speech at Capital One Arena drew widespread criticism online.
He placed a hand on his chest followed by an upward movement, which alarmed critics who saw it as a no-brainer.
Sharing a post from ‘The Rabbit Hole’ account on X (formerly Twitter), Musk dismissed the accusations as part of a wider smear campaign. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is so tiresome,” he wrote, adding: “Honestly, they need better dirty tricks,” he told his critics.
Frankly, they need better dirty tricks.
The “everyone is Hitler” attack is sooo tired 😴
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
In an earlier tweet included in the same post, Musk addressed his political transition. “I used to vote Democratic because they were (mostly) the party of kindness. But they have become the party of division and hate, so I can no longer support them and am voting Republican,” Musk wrote, warning of an impending “dirty tricks campaign” against him.
Critics accuse Musk of fascist overtones, while his supporters insist the gesture was misconstrued and boosted by “dirty tricks campaigns.”
📺 LIVE TV | Musk gives what appears to be a Nazi salute during inauguration lunch
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais)
