Elon Musk addressed the general public backlash he won after exhibiting a Nazi-like hand gesture at an inaugural party for President Donald Trump, protecting himself by means of pronouncing he isn’t a Nazi — whilst additionally making Nazi jokes.
“It was obviously meant in the most positive spirit possible,” Musk mentioned of the gesture, which drew many comparisons to a Nazi salute, on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” launched Friday.
Musk, the unelected overseer of Trump’s so-called Division of Govt Potency that’s tasked with making drastic cuts to federal jobs and spending, known as media protection of his gesture “coordinated propaganda.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks right through the inaugural parade within Capital One Area, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. The hand gesture drew many comparisons to a Nazi salute.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
“Now I can never point at things diagonally,” Musk added.
Rogan additionally defended Musk’s hand gesture at the display, calling it “strange” that individuals would imagine his visitor would brazenly do a Nazi hand movement.
When requested how he felt about being known as a Nazi on X, the social media platform previously referred to as Twitter that he owns, Musk resorted to Nazi puns, telling Rogan, “I did not see it coming.”
“People will Goebbels anything down,” he added.
The lads, each of their 50s, each broke out into laughter over the remarks.
The tech billionaire made identical jokes on X in January in keeping with the fallout over the hand gesture.
Afterward in his interview with Rogan, Musk pushed aside being known as a Nazi.
“Hopefully people realize I’m not a Nazi. Just to be clear, I’m not a Nazi,” he mentioned, guffawing.
“What’s relevant about Nazis is, like, are you invading Poland? And if you’re not invading Poland, maybe you’re not,” he persevered. “You have to be committing genocide and starting wars.”
Final yr, Musk counseled Germany’s far-right political birthday party, the Selection for Germany, whose chief, Björn Höcke, was once convicted for a 2nd time final yr for knowingly the use of a Nazi slogan at a political tournament.
