An image of Elon Musk making a straight-arm, Nazi-like gesture during his speech Monday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration was projected onto Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg on Wednesday night.
The image featured Musk making the gesture alongside the words “Heil Tesla.” U.K. activist group Led By Donkeys and Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty were behind the display, and posted a shared Instagram post from the two groups. “Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin. #LedByDonkeys,” the caption read.
Led By Donkeys also shared a mini-doc on Instagram Thursday, with the caption, “The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is promoting the far right in Europe. Don’t buy @teslamotors. Location: Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin.”
“This is the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin where Elon Musk builds Tesla cars for the European market. It’s factories like this that have made him the world’s richest person. But now he’s using that wealth, billions of dollars amassed by selling Teslas, to promote European far-right parties,” the voiceover from the mini-doc begins. “He’s vocally supporting the far-right AfD [Alternative for Germany] in the upcoming German election, claiming ‘only the AfD can save Germany.’”
The projection of the image on the Tesla Gigafactory comes after Musk’s speech on Monday at Trump’s inauguration. He thanked Trump supporters before slapping his hand on his chest and extending his arm straight outward and upward with his palm facing downward.
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“I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” Musk said during his speech at Capital One Arena, referring to Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. Then he slapped his hand on his chest and extended his arm straight out and up with his palm facing down.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk said, after turning around to make a similar gesture facing the other way.
Musk responded to the accusations that his gesture looked like a Nazi salute on X several hours after he left the stage.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk wrote.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which campaigns against antisemitism, has come to Musk’s defence.
“It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the organization wrote in a post to social media Monday afternoon.
“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
Meanwhile, the ADL’s website describes the “Hitler salute” or “Nazi salute” as consisting “of raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down.”
“In Nazi Germany, it was often accompanied by chanting or shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ or ‘Sieg Heil,’” the description continues. “Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have continued to use the salute, making it the most common white supremacist hand sign in the world.”
Musk has not publicly responded or reacted to the projection of the image on the Tesla factory as of this writing.
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—With files from Global News’ Michelle Butterfield and The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
