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Picture of Elon Musk the creation of a hands outstretched, a Nazi gesture during his speech on Monday to the US President Donald Trump the inauguration was projected on Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg on Wednesday evening.
In the picture, Musk made a gesture with the words “Heil Tesla”. British activist group Led By Donkeys and Germany’s Center for Political Beauty were behind the exhibition and released a joint Instagram post by the two groups. “Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin. #LedByDonkeys,” the caption read.
Led By Donkeys also shared a mini-doc on Instagram on Thursday, with the headline: “The richest man in the world, 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 was factories like this that made him the richest person in the world. But now he is using that wealth, the billions of dollars gained from the sale of Tesla, to promote European far-right parties,” the voice from the mini-document begins. “He is vocally supporting the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany) in the upcoming German elections, claiming that ‘only the AfD can save Germany’.”
The image projection at the Tesla Gigafactory comes after Musk’s speech at Trump’s inauguration on Monday. He previously thanked Trump’s supporters hitting his chest with his hand and extend your arm straight out and up with the palm facing down.
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“I just want to say thank you for doing this,” Musk said during his speech at Capital One Arena, referring to Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Then he slapped his hand on his chest and extended his hand straight up, palm down.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk said, after turning around and making a similar gesture facing the other way.
Musk responded to accusations that his gesture looked like a Nazi salute at X hours after he left the stage.
“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is so tired,” Musk wrote.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which campaigns against anti-Semitism, came to Musk’s defense.
“It appears that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm rather than a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the organization wrote in a social media post Monday afternoon.
“At this point, all parties should give each other some grace, maybe even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let us hope for healing and work for unity in the months and years to come.”
Meanwhile, The ADL website describes the “Hitler Salute” or “Nazi Salute” which consists of “raising the outstretched right hand with the palm down.”
“In Nazi Germany this was often accompanied by chants or shouts of ‘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.”
As of this writing, Musk has not publicly announced or reacted to the projection of the image at the Tesla factory.
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—With files from Michelle Butterfield of Global News and The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
