Elon Musk’s straight-arm gesture embraced by right-wing extremists

 Associated Press

Right-wing extremists are celebrating Elon Musk’s straight-arm gesture during a speech on Monday, although his intention was not totally clear.

“I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” Mr Musk said during a speech on Monday, referring to Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

Then he slapped his hand on his chest, extended his arm straight outward and upward, with his palm facing downwards.

He turned around and made a similar gesture facing the other way.

“My heart goes out to you,” he said.

Many social media users said the gesture looked like a Nazi salute.

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'Lashed out'

Mr Musk has only fanned the flames of suspicion by not explicitly denying those claims in a dozen posts since, though he did make light of the criticism and lashed out at people making that interpretation.

“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Mr Musk posted on X several hours after he left the stage.

Critics and fans alike of the Tesla chief executive and world’s richest man were quick to react.

“The White Flame will rise again,” a chapter of the white nationalist group White Lives Matter posted on Telegram.

The Anti-Defamation League, an antisemitism and human rights watchdog, described it as an “awkward gesture” and urged caution in jumping to conclusions.

Other extremism watchdogs and experts pointed out it was unclear what Mr Musk was trying to convey to the crowd of Trump supporters during his speech by thrusting his arm out.

“I’m sceptical it was on purpose,” said Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks online hate.

“It would be an act of self-sabotage that wouldn’t really make much sense at all.”

He noted Mr Musk specifically said his heart went out to the crowd. That could indicate a sort of gesture of thanks to them.

Since Mr Musk bought Twitter, now called X, the self-described “free speech absolutist” has faced criticism from hate-speech watchdogs for allowing extremist, dangerous and antisemitic comments to flourish on the social media platform.

His response has been to attack his critics, suing one group unsuccessfully after advertisers fled X and threatening to sue another, the ADL.

The ADL was careful in its reaction.

'Awkward'

“It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the group said in a statement.

“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath.”

Kurt Braddock, a professor of communication at American University who studies extremism, radicalisation and terrorism, said the gesture was a fascist salute and “people shouldn’t doubt what they saw”.

“He’s still blowing it off as though it wasn’t something serious,” Mr Braddock said.

“I know what I saw, I know what the response to it was among elements of the extreme right including neo-Nazis, and I see what the reaction is now. And none of it is a laughing matter.”

Brian Levin, founder of the Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said even if it was accidental, the gesture has the power to hurt people.

“When you’re a public figure at the highest echelons of power on Inauguration Day, doing a salute like that is extraordinarily disturbing and it calls for an explanation from Musk,” he said.

“Points are made about free speech. Well, along with free speech comes responsibility.”

Mr Levin said some extremists will take the gesture regardless of its intent as “some kind of not-so-subtle marching order”.