Elon Musk and his Involvement in the US Government

Elon Musk was seen at President Trump’s inauguration this week, where he gave a speech and saluted the crowd twice. However, this wasn’t a normal salute and the action quickly caught people’s attention because it looked eerily similar to a Nazi salute. This salute spread like wildfire across social media and people immediately pointed it out. But how did this all happen and why is it such a big deal?

Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, but he’s also known for making some pretty controversial statements. He’s a very active Twitter (now named X) user, a platform that he owns. Over the years, Musk hasn’t been shy about his strong opinions which have made headlines over many news platforms. This past presidential election, President Donald Trump has been very vocal about his support of Musk, going as far as predicting that. Musk is set to have a place in Trump’s West Wing, becoming the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Due to this, many people were already paying close attention to Musk and his speech at the inauguration. 

When Musk gave his speech and raised his arm to salute the crowd, many people saw it and immediately thought of the Nazi salute, however, many are online defending his actions and calling it a Roman salute. Musk’s father spoke out and called this comparison β€œabsolute nonsense.” However, this resemblance along with his defenders made many Americans deeply upset, believing that this was a sign that this upcoming government will be the most corrupt in American history. 

It’s important to remember that any public figure can be taken out of context, however, the salute Musk made was clear, obvious, and offensive. Misinformation on social media being spread can be dangerous but again, this was not one of those times. Pay attention to the news and stay alert to current politics.