‘Did He Just Sieg Heil?!’ Wild Elon Musk Gesture at Trump Inauguration Celebration Goes Viral

A saluting gesture made by Elon Musk during his speech at President Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration went viral on social media Monday afternoon, with many commentators expressing shock over its similarity to the “Heil Hitler” salute used by the Nazis.

Due to the cold weather, Trump’s inauguration festivities were moved indoors, with the oaths of office conducted inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and, instead of the traditional inaugural parade, a rally held inside Washington, D.C.’s Capitol One Arena.

A vocal supporter of Trump’s re-election effort, Musk was among the invited speakers at the rally. Mediaite reported on Sunday that Musk would address the crowd following Trump’s swearing-in. Trump himself will speak later in the day.

Musk taking the stage drew “the biggest reaction that we have had so far,” with a standing ovation, said CNN anchor Erin Burnett, reporting live from inside the arena.

The richest man in the world danced and vigorously pumped his fists as he walked up to the microphone and gave a triumphant yell.

“Yes! Yes! This is what victory feels like! Yeah!” shouted Musk. “And this was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization, okay. This — this — you know, there are elections that, elections that come and go, some elections are, you know, important, some are not. But this one — heh, heh, heh, heh, heh! — this one really mattered.”

“And I just want to say thank you for making it happen. Thank you,” Musk continued, and then slapped his right hand on his chest and flung it outwards at an upwards angle, holding it up straight for a moment before continuing his speech.

“My heart goes out to you,” he continued, putting his hand on his chest again. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured. Thanks to you. We’re going to have safe cities — finally! — safe cities, secured borders, sensible spending, basic stuff. And we’re going to take DOGE to Mars!”

The moment with the salute begins at roughly the 1:13 mark in the above video.

Burnett was taken aback by what she described as an “odd-looking salute,” repeating that description and that Musk had had a big reception from the crowd for the “rousing lines” he delivered in his speech, like that the “future of civilization” was assured by Trump’s victory.

Kasie Hunt replied to Burnett by commenting that he had “indeed” offered “rousing lines,” and added that the salute “was evocative of things that we have seen through history,” and noted (presumably for the benefit of the producers) that she wanted viewers to be able to get a “closer look” at it again.

“I think it’s worth noting Elon Musk has started to play in politics,” Hunt continued, “not just here in the United States, but across Europe as well, including a far right party in Germany,” trying to pressure the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and so on showing how “his ambitions are sweeping.”

As CNN aired the video clip showing the salute again, Hunt said that it was “quick” but “I think our viewers are smart, and they can take a look at that, but it certainly was — it’s not something you typically see at American rallies, let’s put it that way.”

Commentators on Musk’s social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, were not so circumspect in their reactions to the video.

Aaron Rupar posted the clip with just a simple “um,” and the tweet quickly racked up over 4 million views.

Another video that appears to have been taken by a rally attendee, with a slightly different angle than the CNN camera, showed Musk doing the salute gesture twice.

Regardless of the angle, many reacted by making the comparison to Adolf Hitler and the “Sieg Heil” salute adopted and widely used by the Nazi Party as it rose to power in Germany.

“Did he just Sieg Heil?!” exclaimed progressive commentator Hasan Piker, who was streaming the rally and reacted live.

Others on X defended Musk and argued he was “throwing his heart to the crowd.” Video is above and readers can analyze and decide for themselves.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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