For a man obsessed with “wokeness” destroying civilization, Elon Musk seems remarkably comfortable promoting, or at least tolerating, an ideology that did exactly that 80 years ago. The problem isn’t just a controversial gesture — it’s Musk’s own words, his platform’s policies, and the extremists he empowers.
Start with the facts. In November 2023, an X user claimed Jews are “pushing dialectical hatred against whites” and “flooding their country with hordes of minorities.” To that hateful post, Musk personally responded: “You have said the actual truth.”
What makes this particularly despicable is that the conspiracy he is invoking – The Great Replacement Theory – has motivated real violence against Jews. The theory claims that the (((elites))) are deliberately facilitating mass immigration to “replace” the native white population. It was explicitly cited by the gunman who murdered 11 Jews and injured 6 others in the Tree of Life Massacre in 2018, and the Poway synagogue shooting in 2019 that killed 1 and injured 3. Musk’s blatant endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories did spark widespread condemnation, leading to a performative apology and a high-profile visit to Auschwitz. But any hope that he would learn from his mistakes was short-lived.
According to a 2023 report by the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic content on X surged by 1,000% after Musk’s takeover—five times the increase on explicitly far-right platforms like Gab and 4chan. This isn’t passive tolerance; it’s active facilitation. Musk has personally unbanned neo-Nazis like Nick Fuentes, a man who publicly praises Hitler and calls to execute all “perfidious Jews,” whose reinstatement in May 2024 sent a clear signal: extremists are welcome here.
When the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum flagged a post that called Sylvian Kozubski—a French Jewish boy murdered in a gas chamber—“vermin” who should “burn in hell,” X’s moderation team ruled it didn’t violate their guidelines. The post was only removed after a lengthy appeals process. Meanwhile, Musk amplified white nationalist accounts daily and endorsed Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has an extensive history of promoting Nazi sentiment and ideology. AfD leader Björn Höcke was charged with using Nazi slogans like “Alles für Deutschland,” rallied against Holocaust remembrance, and a German court ruled that calling him a fascist is not slander because it is merely a factual description of his ideology.
Musk spoke at an AfD rally and argued Germany must “move on” from their horrific past and claimed multiculturalism “dilutes traditional values” — a direct echo of Nazi propaganda. Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, condemned Musk’s embrace of the AfD, calling his remarks “an insult to the victims of Nazism” and warning that “the remembrance and acknowledgment of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society.”
This antisemitic pattern isn’t new. Musk posted a video by Daryl Cooper, a far-right podcaster who claimed Holocaust victims died not from systematic extermination but because Hitler “lacked a plan to house and feed prisoners,” calling it “very interesting, worth watching.” He engaged with Andrew Torba on X, who founded the antisemitic platform Gab and said Jews are responsible for societal decay and are “psychologically and spiritually castrating” people. He compared George Soros, a Holocaust survivor, to the comic villain Magneto, accusing him of “wanting to erode the very fabric of civilization”—a comparison condemned by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Now, consider the Nazi salute. Everyone’s asking: “Did he, or didn’t he make a Nazi salute during President Trump’s inauguration?” But these people are not asking the deeper question, of which there are two. “Why didn’t he apologize, or at the very least, clarify that he wasn’t channeling Hitler?” and “What impact is the salute-or-not-a-salute having on the public discourse?”
While speculation swirls about whether Musk intentionally channeled Hitler at Trump’s inauguration, his response was telling. Instead of clarifying or apologizing, he posted Holocaust jokes: “Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Göring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming ”
Does this look like someone concerned about Jewish pain? Or someone reveling in cruelty?
On X, 4chan, and Gab, Nazi sympathizers celebrated the salute as proof Musk is “one of them.” Don’t take it from me—take it from the antisemites themselves. Andrew Torba, Gab’s antisemitic owner who said he won’t “bend the knee” to the Jews anymore, called Musk’s behavior a “masterclass in political strategy” that “advances our agenda.”
Contrast this with Musk’s hypersensitivity to criticism. He called British cave diver Vernon Unsworth “pedo guy,” mocked Bill Gates’ physique for shorting Tesla Stock, derided Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Senator Karen,” lashed out against Tesla whistleblower Martin Tripp, and told advertisers concerned about his antisemitism and the promotion of neo-Nazis on X to “go fuck yourself.” Yet when accused of antisemitism, he laughs.
Musk’s defenders claim he’s “just trolling.” But when the Auschwitz Memorial condemns his platform for sheltering genocidal hate, when the ADL documents a 1,000% surge in antisemitism, and when the two gold standard institutions of Holocaust remembrance condemn him, this is no joke.
Whether Musk sincerely believes Nazi ideology or finds it “entertaining” is irrelevant. His actions—platforming genocidal rhetoric, rehabilitating fascists, mocking victims—have consequences. As the ADL data shows, antisemitism thrives on X because Musk allows it.
So yes, ask why Musk won’t apologize for the salute. But don’t ignore the overwhelming evidence that he’s already answered—not with words, but with deeds.
Still, some in the Jewish community defend him as a “troll.” I don’t know what’s worse — promoting ideologies that led to the genocide of 6 million Jews because you believe them, or because it’s entertaining to see people squirm. Both are evil – the latter is just more sociopathic.
Either way, this is not someone who should be given the keys to his local Chuck E. Cheese, much less his own office in the White House.
