Musk put his hand to his heart and raised it up at an angle that had many googling “nazi salute.”

WASHINGTON — Social media erupted with chatter after Elon Musk delivered a speech following President Trump’s inauguration on Monday, but it wasn’t his words that sparked the frenzy. The Tesla CEO and X (formerly Twitter) owner took the stage at Capital One Arena in the afternoon to express gratitude to the crowd for helping secure Trump’s reelection. However, during his speech, Musk made a gesture that quickly drew comparisons to the Nazi salute.

As he thanked the audience, Musk raised his hand to his heart, then extended it upward and outward in a way that resembled the infamous salute associated with Nazi Germany. “I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you,” Musk told the crowd before performing the gesture. He repeated the motion twice, before placing his hand back on his chest and adding, “My heart goes out to you.”

The incident quickly went viral, with the phrase “Nazi salute” trending on X, the platform Musk owns, and the search term “Elon Musk Nazi salute” spiking by roughly 500% on Google Trends within two hours. By 6 p.m., the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement on social media, describing Musk’s gesture as “an awkward movement in a moment of enthusiasm,” rather than a Nazi salute. They urged the public to extend grace and allow for the benefit of the doubt, noting the heightened tensions in the current climate.