Elon Musk is considering suing media outlets for calling his gesture onstage at a post-inauguration rally a “Nazi” salute.
His mother is egging him on.
During a rally at Capitol One Arena in Washington last week, the MAGA billionaire and President Donald Trump adviser raised his right arm twice at an upward angle.
Musk has dismissed any comparisons between his move and a fascist salute, calling them “tired.”
On Tuesday, the Tesla CEO radically escalated his response to the criticism, musing in a tweet that it would be a “good idea” to sue Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, after Walz delivered his verdict on whether Musk gave a Nazi salute on her show. “Of course he did.”
Maye Musk, the billionaire’s mother, suggested he up the ante and sue other media outlets that have compared the gesture to a fascist salute, such as CNN and PBS News.
https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1884436694386041077?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1884436694386041077%7Ctwgr%5E2fa1b3aaee116948e1ea7ed3b5ea3cd107a0ca35%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsbreak.com%2Fshare%2F3782045125481-elon-musk-s-mom-urges-him-to-sue-media-over-salute-coverage%3Fs%3Da7share_destination_id%3DMzAwMjYyMjYxLTE3MzgyMTI2MjU0OTE3Dpd%3D0KJrvhrZhl%3Den_USsend_time%3D1738212625actBtn%3DbottomBar_f%3Dapp_sharetrans_data%3D7B22platform223A12C22cv223A2224.47.0222C22languages223A22en227Dsep%3Dns_push_exp_rt_bucketv12-v72Cns_foryou_blend_exp_25q1-v82Cns_foryou_model_exp_25q1-v72Cns_foryou_rank_exp_25q1-v72Cns_foryou_recall_exp_25q1-v2
She claimed she has been the target of “so much hatred” as a result of a CNN segment in which Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell challenged Republican pundit Scott Jennings, who defended Musk, to replicate the gesture.
https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1884434226205913502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1884434226205913502%7Ctwgr%5E2fa1b3aaee116948e1ea7ed3b5ea3cd107a0ca35%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsbreak.com%2Fshare%2F3782045125481-elon-musk-s-mom-urges-him-to-sue-media-over-salute-coverage%3Fs%3Da7share_destination_id%3DMzAwMjYyMjYxLTE3MzgyMTI2MjU0OTE3Dpd%3D0KJrvhrZhl%3Den_USsend_time%3D1738212625actBtn%3DbottomBar_f%3Dapp_sharetrans_data%3D7B22platform223A12C22cv223A2224.47.0222C22languages223A22en227Dsep%3Dns_push_exp_rt_bucketv12-v72Cns_foryou_blend_exp_25q1-v82Cns_foryou_model_exp_25q1-v72Cns_foryou_rank_exp_25q1-v72Cns_foryou_recall_exp_25q1-v2
Jennings disregarded her request.
Last week, PBS NewsHour reported that Musk “gave what appeared to be a fascist salute.”
Some observers argue that, regardless of Musk’s intent, the gesture he made is unmistakably symbolic.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University who studies fascism, tweeted that he gave “a Nazi salute-and a very belligerent one too.”
Amy Spitalnick, president of the nonprofit Jewish Council for Public Affairs, stated that “the salute itself should be enough to warrant condemnation and attention.”
Journalist Michel Friedman, a former president of the European Jewish Congress, told Tagesspiegel that Musk’s gesture “taboos are being broken to a point that is dangerous for the entire free world” and slammed Musk for what he called the “masses of anti-semitic tweets” tolerated on his social media platform X.
Musk has endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland in the German federal election next month, and he spoke at a rally of the party’s supporters on Saturday, encouraging Germans to move beyond their “past guilt” over the Holocaust.
Several prominent figures have also jumped to Musk’s defense.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the billionaire is being “falsely smeared.” The Anti-Defamation League excused his “awkward gesture,” but condemned him for later tweeting Nazi-related jokes.
