Watch the salute videos from all angles, including the contorting he does of his face into a look very much not of love.
Then watch the videos from the past where he reaches out from his heart and lack of facial contortions. There is zero similarity between his past 'from my heart' and his salutes.
Then put his salute videos next to nazi salutes and try to find the difference. Look at the un-natural elbow position, unnatural finger placement, straight rigid wrist, the angels, un-natural timing of the movement.
Actual Nazi's however were celebrating it. I think they are pretty good at recognizing their own, no?
Again, I suggest people use their actual eyes. Look at how he did that motion in the past, how he did his salute, and watch the full motion side by side with actual both those and a 'confirmed, 100% certified' nazi salute. Look at it from the multiple angles.
I think the far-right is working to decouple Nazi nativism and symbology from outright antisemitism in service of expanding their political umbrella. Actually, this is already Russia’s position: see how they call Ukrainians neo-Nazis even though the country is run by a Jewish person.
In a few years, identifying as a "Nazi" might even be seen as a (semi-ironic) mark of pride.
If we are to believe this, antisemitism is no longer a characteristic. Also, reducing the size and scope of the state, which was previously celebrated as a foundational principle of 18th-19th century liberalism, is now a characteristic of National Socialism. In short, it has nothing to do with the original ideology. The historical record is irrelevant, as are the facts of National Socialist economic policy. Words don't need to have meaning, but the pejorative effect should be preserved for maximum emotional impact.
I'm not buying it. Perhaps a more compelling explanation of this phenomenon is that partisans seek to tarnish their opponents by invoking Godwin's law. It seems much simpler and requires less gymnastics.
Wanting a place to send jews to can actually be a nazi position. Don't forget Elon went to Israel as a PR move after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
This comment [1] links to a post of side by side videos of the gesture Musk did and people doing what is definitely a Nazi salute. The motions match pretty much exactly.
Whether he intended it as a Nazi salute is not really relevant. The Nazis so completely tainted that gesture that any normal person, if they inadvertently make it, pretty quickly offers an explanation when it is called to their attention.
Not Musk. No explanation of what he was actually going for.
An intelligent person makes deductions based on evidence. Low knows Musk's character from working closely with him; knows he's smart enough to understand how his salute would be perceived; sees his close connections with far-right groups (e.g. AfD) around the world; observes his public reaction (Nazi jokes, ha ha) after the controversy. It's not difficult to put two and two together here.
> knows he's smart enough to understand how his salute would be perceived
That assumes his salute was a deliberate, calculated act rather than an impulsive gesture in the heat of the moment. Given his visit to Auschwitz, his public statements, his pro-immigration stance, and his numerous Jewish friends and colleagues, there’s far more evidence suggesting he is not a Nazi than the opposite.
What I haven't seen mentioned (and it's cut out of most videos online) is that he also paraphrased the "14 words" directly after. Sure, different enough to have plausible deniability, but I would bet money on that message hitting home in certain circles who know those words well. Nudge nudge, wink wink, and all that.
Then again, people are not admitting to themselves that it was two full-on Sieg Heils (regardless of the underlying reason for it), so this is less of a smoking gun and I don't even know why I'm writing this post.
Read accounts from the people that were with him on his visit to Auschwitz. It was purely PR. Remember he was kind of forced into because he was being perceived as far right. He didn't just go because he morally thought it was something he should do, he went for PR to rehab his image.
Anybody who doesn't intend to give a Nazi salute yet appeared to have done twice at a major event would immediately apologize and repudiate the salute. Musk didn't.
Julie Gray, who was there when he visited Auschwitz, said the following:
> I see people posting that Elon was at Auschwitz this time last year - therefore, his recent "gesture" is not antisemitic. I was there, too. Last year. With Elon. I am embarrassed that I have photos of this on my phone. My love, Gidon Lev, was the "special guest" of this photo-op event. We thought, at the time, that it would be good publicity. But I would not share the photo today. I chatted with Elon Musk. I spent hours with him and walked with him through Auschwitz. I stood with him, looking at the nauseating heaps of hair, luggage, and shoes flooded with violet light meant to preserve it. Is Musk an antisemite? People, actually, it's worse - he doesn't care whatsoever. Elon, father of "little X" as he described his freezing cold son to me, literally does not care. He was unmoved by the experience. For Gidon, to be in the place where his father, Ernst, died on a death march - whether shot by the side of the road or having simply collapsed - was a huge deal. Elon did not care. He was about his press junket and his bodyguards. I was ten feet from him as he posed for the cameras of his entourage. He was utterly detached. He cared about how he looked. When he placed a wreath at Auschwitz and Gidon was overlooked, he walked away with the cameras whirring. This is Elon Musk. A sociopath, if ever there was one. To deduce, from this visit, that he is a friend of the Jews is desperately naive.
B) And Hitler wasn't stupid enough to open up a second front on the Soviet Union? Jacked up on meth and morphine likely makes a person rather confident, perhaps perilously so.
