It feels so weird to call this controversial. Doesn't that usually mean something similar to "polarising"? Who are on the poles here? Nazis, and the rest of the world?

From the wiki entry, "...interpreted by many as a Nazi or fascist" salute. It's like, yeah I guess it was interpreted by many that way, in the same way many people interpret water to be wet.

Why are the writers of this wiki entry giving so much wiggle room for Nazis? What the fuck?

I painted this about it

Please correct me, but as far as I know, Elon Musk has never explicitly denied that it was a Nazi salute. He never said the words "it was not" or anything similar. He has called accusers ridiculous, talked about a gesture being meaningless, and made Holocaust jokes.

Lenz Jacobsen wrote in Die Zeit: "Someone who, on a political stage during a political speech in front of a partly far-right audience swings their right arm upwards diagonally multiple times, is giving the Nazi salute. There's no need for 'alleged' or 'similar' or 'disputed'."[72] Timo Feldhaus wrote in the Berliner Zeitung: "That Elon Musk carefully considered his energetically performed signal, is safe to assume. Even a man as oblivious to history as he is knows what he's doing in this situation."[73]

No confusion as to what it really was.

It’s absolutely a Nazi salute. I’m about 90% sure he did it the way he did just to stir the shit because he’s an attention seeking asshole wanting to be the main character. Only 10% remaining because he doesn’t think he’s a Nazi despite sharing a shitload of their fascist traits.

"controversy"???

My favorite this was watching all the people claim "It was a Roman salute! It means he is giving his heart to the people!" Motherfucker the Roman salute is the Nazi salute. They are the same thing. The Romans used it, then the Italian Fascist party used it and Hitler adopted it in Germany and called it the Sieg Heil.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_salute

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_salute

The Trillion Dollar Nazi. Sounds like a good title for a book.

What's the controversy? The man's entire body of work is authoritarian to the core. Are we debating whether this was a nazi salute or an awkward attempt at a nazi salute? Who cares about the gesture, look where he invested his money, what he says on a daily basis. Is there anyone who doesn't recognize the fascism? If you don't recognize it, I got news for you...

The salute is just one piece of the story. Musk is actively supporting right wing fascist and white supremacy groups in UK and Germany with funding. His activity on social media is just as bad.

Even if he didn't obviously do Fascist salutes while high on ketamine, he has a deeper troubling history.

Elon Musk's NAZI salute. There is no controversy

In my opinion, Musk does not consider himself a Nazi, despite his involvement in far right causes and patent racism.

I think he just can't stand the idea of a world where other people can tell him what he can and can't do. This was him going out there to show the world, "I can do whatever I want" with the most extreme example he could come up with. The "lol you call everyone a Nazi" trolling afterwards was icing on the cake for him.

I say this not to excuse or condone this in any way. It clearly was 100% intended as a Nazi salute.

He's a pathetic creep whose mental development stopped in adolescence. See also: Stephen Miller.

That is why I love wikipedia, this will be there forever (or atleast in the hard drives of people who backed it up). Not the sort of stuff you can find it in government backed projects. Happy to be an annual donator.

More USA drama! Noice. It's clear what he did, there is no controversy.
You fool yourself.

I have no strong opinion on whether this was or was not intended to be a nazi salute. The bigger issue in my opinion is how Musk reacted to people asking him to confirm that it was not intended to be a nazi salute. Deflection, jokes, ridicule, and tacit approval. All served to bolster the white supremacists watching -- and this, for sure, was intended.

Imagine STILL thinking this is a "controversy".

Propaganda has poisoned people's minds and I'm afraid it's permanent.

Someone said to me once, "he's just a awkward guy!" Give me a fucking break.

I'm never buying a Teslar.

Oh yes, the Terran Empire salute.

Does it mention how high he was? Not that that’s an excuse, he was planning to do it anyway, but that fascist garbage fire is hiiiiiiigh