10.44 The Elon Musk Nazi Salute Controversy
Before we discuss Elon's outstretched arm controversy it is worthwhile to learn a little about Elon Musk. Elon spent his early childhood with his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca in South Africa. When Elon was 12 years old, he developed his own game called Blastar that he sold for $500. He was often so lost in his daydreams about inventions that his parents and doctors ordered a test to check his hearing. The short, introverted, and bookish child was bullied until he was 15. By that point, he went through a growth spurt and learned how to defend himself with karate and wrestling. He has continued to practice martial arts as an adult. He said in 2013 that “I came to North America because I felt this was where there was opportunity to do great things in technology.” Musk’s move to Canada coincided with his enrollment in Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He studied there for two years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He graduated five years later with bachelor’s degrees in economics and physics. He started his first company, Zip2 in 1995. He wrote software that combined a map database with a business directory database that could be accessed online. Musk said the company’s mission was that everyone ought to be able to find the closest pizza parlour and to be able to figure out how to get there. Unable to persuade potential investors to give them financing, Musk and his partners lived in their office to keep expenses low. In 1999 Compaq Computer Corp. purchased Zip2 for $307 million, and Zip2 became a unit of the search engine AltaVista, which Compaq had recently acquired.
Musk then headed to Stanford University to pursue a doctorate in energy physics. However, he dropped out of Stanford after just two days in favor of joining the rising internet tech wave. He leads other companies such as SpaceX, to make reusable spacecraft, Tesla to make electric cars, and Starlink to allow people to connect to the internet via satellite. Starlink is especially useful in locations where there are no cable services providing internet. Elon Musk brought the Twitter company to insure that people had free speech on the internet and renamed twitter x.com.
Elon Musk spent over $288 million dollars to help Trump and other Republican candidates get elected. After the election, the then-president-elect tapped Musk to lead the newly formed “Department of Government Efficiency” which he set up to identify and eliminate wasteful spending.
During Trump's inauguration day Elon stretched out his hand while making a speech. Democrats accused him of making a Nazi salute. Nazis would hail Hitler by stretching their arms out and shouting Heil Hitler (Hail Hitler) or Sieg Heil (Hail victory). This short clip tells the history of the Nazi salute.
Here is a photo of Musk and his outstretched arm.
PBS News correspondent Stephanie Sy watched Musk's speech and said s that Musk's gesture “certainly appears to be a 'Heil Hitler.'” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, seconded that claim on social media. “There's no way to sugarcoat this,” Sen. Murphy wrote. “This is the Nazi salute. This is the Nazi f---ing salute.”
Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, (AOC) is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who represents the Bronx and nearby areas of New York in Congress. She condemns Elon's gesture in the video below.
The Jewish Anti Defamation League said that Elon Musk was not making a Nazi salute. AOC responded to them by saying:
Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity. People can stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.
How did the ADL know that Elon Musk wasn't making a Nazi salute? For one thing they probably watched the video of Musk before and after he stretched out his arm. Here is a clip of before and after.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu defended Elon Musk amidst the 'Nazi Salute' controversy, calling him a "great friend of Israel." He dismissed allegations as false smears, citing Musk's support for Israel after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. "Elon is a great friend of Israel," Netanyahu posted on X, the social media site owned by Musk. The billionaire, whom Trump has tasked with slashing US government spending, "repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel's right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state", Netanyahu added.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,” Musk wrote. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
Musk has said that because the left often portrayed Trump and his supporters and Republicans who preceded Trump as akin to Nazis. For example this photoshopped photo was that made Trump's pose resemble Hitler was circulated on the internet. What's especially sick about this was Trump had just been shot by some lunatic who considered him to be like a Nazi. Trump got up after being shot and raised his fist and said fight to his supporters.
After the accusations of Democrats like AOC, that Elon made a Nazi salute people looked for images of Democrats doing the same thing. Here is what they found.
Hillary Clinton is on top left, Obama, top right, Senator Elizabeth Warren bottom left and Kamala Harris bottom right..
The picture above is of AOC with her arm outstretched the same AOC who accused Elon of making a Nazi salute
Oh no, is Taylor Swift a Nazi too?
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