Elon Musk Twitter edits ‘Nazi salute’ out of his Trump inauguration speech

The erratic tech billionaire made a gesture that seemed to many like a fascist salute – but when Elon Musk posted the clip on X/Twitter there was something different

Elon Musk’s Twitter account edited a moment from his Donald Trump inauguration speech where he appeared to give a ‘nazi salute.’

The erratic tech billionaire shocked many – including those watching at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena – when he put his hand on his chest, then stretched out his arm with an open hand.

To many it appeared Musk had performed a fascist salue – familiar to most from their use by the Nazis in reverence to Adolf Hitler.

Others have suggested he was merely gesturing that his “heart goes out” to the crowd.

Either way, by the time Musk posted video of his speech to his X/Twitter account, the moment had been replaced by a crowd shot.

The moment, which took place during a lull in the day’s events – while Trump was enjoying a luncheon with senior Washington figures in the Capital Building – and quickly spread on social media, will be an embarrassment to the new President, just hours into his second term.

Last week, Musk hosted an online interview with Alice Weidel, the leader of AfD, Germany’s far-right party.

During the exchange, Weidel made the repeatedly debunked claim that Hitler wasn’t far-right, but a communist or socialist – to which Musk agreed.

“The biggest success after that terrible era in our history was to label Adolf Hitler as right[-wing] and conservative, he was exactly the opposite,” Weidel said. “He wasn’t a conservative, he wasn’t a libertarian, he was a communist, socialist guy, and we are the opposite.”

“Right,” Musk responded.

Musk has often praised AfD, saying: “only the AfD can save Germany.”

A free speech fundamentalist, Musk has repeatedly said the reasons he bought Twitter and renamed it X was because he wanted to end what he believed was “censorship” on the platform.