NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Right-wing extremists are celebrating Elon Musk鈥檚 straight-arm gesture during a speech Monday, although his intention wasn't totally clear and some hate watchdogs are saying not to read too much into it.
鈥淚 just want to say thank you for making it happen,鈥� Musk said during a speech at Capitol One Arena on Monday afternoon, referring to Donald Trump鈥檚 victory in the 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.
鈥淢y heart goes out to you,鈥� he said.
Many social media users noticed that the gesture looked like a Nazi salute. 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.
鈥淭he 鈥榚veryone is Hitler鈥� attack is sooo tired,鈥� Musk posted on X several hours after he left the stage.
Critics and fans alike of the Tesla CEO and world鈥檚 richest man were quick to react to the gesture.
鈥淭he White Flame will rise again,鈥� a chapter of the white nationalist group White Lives Matter posted on Telegram.
鈥淢aybe woke really is dead,鈥� white nationalist Keith Woods posted on X.
The Anti-Defamation League, an antisemitism and human rights watchdog, called it an 鈥渁wkward gesture鈥� and urged caution in jumping to conclusions. Other extremism watchdogs and experts pointed out it was unclear what Musk was trying to convey to the crowd of Trump's supporters during his speech by thrusting his arm out.
鈥淚鈥檓 skeptical it was on purpose,鈥� said Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks online hate. 鈥淚t would be an act of self-sabotage that wouldn鈥檛 really make much sense at all.鈥�
Holt noted Musk specifically said his heart went out to the crowd. That could indicate a sort of gesture of thanks to them.
Since Musk bought Twitter, now called X, the self-described 鈥渇ree speech absolutist鈥� 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, unsuccessfully after X and threatening to sue another, the Anti-Defamation League, which urged calm at this 鈥渄elicate moment鈥� in its statement Monday.
鈥淚t seems that made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,鈥� the ADL said in a statement. 鈥淚n this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath.鈥�
Kurt Braddock, a professor of communication at American University who studies extremism, radicalization and terrorism, said the gesture was a fascist salute and 鈥減eople shouldn鈥檛 doubt what they saw.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 still blowing it off as though it wasn鈥檛 something serious,鈥� Braddock said of Musk. 鈥淚 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.鈥�
In Europe where the fascist salute is associated with hate, death and destruction of World War II, Musk's arm gesture elicited outrage.
An Italian communist youth organization on Tuesday hung an effigy of Musk upside down in Milan鈥檚 Piazzale Loreto, where Mussolini鈥檚 body was hung upside down after he was executed during the final days of World War II. The organization, Cambiare Rotta (Change Course), noted in a Facebook post that a photo of the effigy had been removed by the social media company.
鈥淲e are correctly a little afraid, because that image is scary,鈥欌�� author Filippo Ceccarelli told Italian La7 private television.
Known as the Roman salute in Italy, the straight-arm greeting officially adopted in 1925 by the dictator Benito Mussolini鈥檚 fascist regime is banned in Italy though it is rarely prosecuted.
Musk鈥檚 representative in Italy, Andrea Stroppa, published the photo on X with the words: 鈥淩oman Empire is back, starting with the Roman salute,鈥� according to the news agency ANSA.
He later deleted the post, writing that Musk 鈥渋s autistic,鈥� and was expressing his emotions but denying he was emulating fascism.
鈥淗e does not like extremists,鈥欌�� Stroppa wrote.
In France on Monday, more than 80 associations, including human rights, environmental and press freedom groups left X, though it is unclear if Musk was the trigger or Trump鈥檚 inauguration. Several universities and schools left X, too, as well as nationwide and local newspaper on various sides of the political spectrum.
Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said even if it was accidental, the gesture Musk did has the power to hurt people.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e 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,鈥� he said. 鈥淧oints are made about free speech. Well, along with free speech comes responsibility.鈥�
Levin said some extremists will take the gesture regardless of its intent as 鈥渟ome kind of not-so-subtle marching order.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Colleen Barry in Milan and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
Bernard Condon, The Associated Press
