LAST Monday – during celebrations of the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump – the world's richest man Elon Musk slapped his right hand into his chest, fingers splayed.
Then, he shot his right arm up diagonally, fingers together and palm facing down.
It is a universally known gesture, which the billionaire made a further two times that evening, predictably leading to outrage.
Of course, Musk has denied it was a Nazi salute. Those who suggested the opposite – from prominent historians and anti-racism organisations to Israeli newspapers – were playing “dirty tricks”, he said.
Musk added: “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
His fans have suggested it was simply an outpouring of love to an adoring crowd.
Others have said it was a Roman salute – a gesture adopted by supporters of Italian fascist Benito Mussolini in the 1920s who thought (without historical evidence) that it was an old form of Roman greeting.
But regardless, the gesture hasn't happened in a vacuum.
It comes after the billionaire has increasingly intervened and backed far-right causes in the UK and across Europe of late – including calling for the release (and reportedly paying the legal fees) of far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, expressing support for both Reform UK and far-right German party AfD and generally amplifying extreme-right accounts and views on social media site Twitter/X, which he owns.
And it has been a serious matter of debate within the UK's far-right and neo-Nazi space.
What do UK far-right groups think of Elon Musk and the salute?
The Sunday National has been monitoring the activity of far-right groups and influencers active in Scotland and the UK on fringe social network Telegram since the riots in England last August.
And some of them were quite energised, even excited about Musk's gesture and what it meant.
This has included figures within the international Active Club network – of which a Scottish branch launched in May 2023.
First promoted in 2017 by American far-right activist Robert Rundo, the group combines physical exercise with far-right and neo-Nazi beliefs, with members often pictured working out and training in martial arts (above).
Experts have suggested that this is in preparation for a perceived future “race war”.
Writing in the aftermath of Musk’s salute, the admin of a prominent Active Club channel, GYM XIV, said it was a “shift in the Overton window” – the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream.
"If Trump, Musk and all the other Betapolitical right has done something it's this. They are players in this battle of values that have changed the frontlines. And right now we surf on a wave of energy," the message said to the group's more than 2900 followers.
"A wave of faustian spirit reclaiming its rightful place in the heart and minds of our peoples. Whatever we think of certain political outcomes. It's obvious. The game has changed dramatically."
The message added that they should "use this in our favour" and realise that "we don't need to rally around anyone anymore".
"They follow us. Our ideas are on top. Musk knows it. We know it," the message went on.
“Everybody wanna be us. Even the world's richest guy. But he is still what he is. A nerd. And in his quest for be the cool guy. He might do some stuff that breaks the enemy's moral. Like saluting for example.”
Patriotic Alternative – which is widely considered the UK’s largest far-right white supremacist group – appears to be conflicted about Musk’s salute and support of the far-right but hopeful about the future.
Mark Collett (below), who founded the group in 2019, spoke about it on a far-right show he hosts – Patriotic Weekly Review.
The former leader of the youth wing of the British National Party said he believed Musk knew exactly what he was doing but “didn’t mean it” and was instead “trolling”.
But he added: “It's very frustrating with Elon Musk because he brushes up against things which clearly are like, ok – this is good.
“[But] a trillionaire is not going to roll around and fix our situation for us [...] I don't believe in a top-down solution, but occasionally you can have things that help to boost a narrative.”
The white supremacist — who in a separate video earlier this year said the “tectonic plates are shifting” and recently spoke with ex-Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke – said both Musk and Donald Trump have “certainly helped to up the rhetoric and help to normalise certain things”.
He added: “We don't really make the waves, we just have to ride them. And as far as I can see, this Trump presidency is not gonna be the thing that turns the demographics around and saves the white race, but if we can get anything out of it – we should.”
Meanwhile, David Clews (below) – a major far-right influencer and former Scottish Tory (then Labour) councillor in Renfrewshire – said he is “not a fan” of Musk and that he “doesn’t trust him”.
The founder of Unity News Network - a popular channel on Telegram which helped fan the flames amid the far-right violence seen last August – does believe there is something to gain from Musk’s recent activity, however.
After discussing Elon Musk’s salute on a Unity News Network video show on fringe social media site Rumble, Clews said: “Pragmatism is the best way to be. Look at these people, look at what they're doing. And not piggyback on it.
“But just look at how we can use what they are doing to our advantage.”
An expert take
JOE Mulhall, the director of research at Hope Not Hate – the UK's largest anti-fascism organisation – said that neo-Nazis in the UK and abroad are certainly “really excited” after seeing Musk’s salute.
“They've taken it as a nod and a wink. They've been quite excited about it – the actual Nazi scene,” the extremism expert said.
On what he calls the more “moderate” wing of the far-right, even those in the vicinity of the likes of Tommy Robinson (below), the attitude is more dismissive however.
“They're all saying, you know – don't be absurd, this is just another example of people trying to smear and say everyone's a Nazi,” he said.
Regardless, Mulhall said there are obvious signs that the far-right movement in the UK is “very buoyed and growing”.
When it comes to Musk’s involvement with it, he said it was a “double-edged sword”.
“Of course, he's dramatically amplified very extreme far-right figures, even people like Andrew McIntyre who went to prison for 7.5 years after his role in stoking up the riots in Merseyside.
“This is a guy who is an extreme Nazi, an antisemite.”
But on the other hand, Mulhall said many on the far-right are also increasingly critical of the billionaire – especially after he recently backed a US visa programme for foreign tech workers.
“Some people think that he's part of the problem. He's a kind of globalist. He's not overtly – or he doesn't explicitly talk about – being a racial nationalist.
He added: “That debate is something that's happening across the global extreme right.”
