Political activists in Germany said Thursday they had projected an image of Elon Musk’s infamous raised-arm salute and the word “Heil” onto the outside of his Tesla plant.
Campaigners from German group the Center for Political Beauty and British activists Led by Donkeys shared pictures and footage online of the protest action they said they had staged late Wednesday.
The word “heil” is seen projected onto the factory near Berlin in the font of the automaker’s logo, to spell the message “Heil Tesla”, a reference to the Nazi greeting that honoured Adolf Hitler.
Philipp Ruch, founder of the Center for Political Beauty, said in comments to AFP that Musk had given “a Hitler salute, just like American neo-Nazis have been practising for years”.
Musk has rejected as “dirty tricks” and “propaganda” any comparisons between the Nazi salute and his gesture, which he repeated and accompanied with the words “my heart goes out to you” to the audience.
Musk has already drawn criticism in Germany for his vocal support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and repeatedly insulting German political leaders on his X social media platform.
With Germany in the midst of an election campaign, Musk has described the AfD as the “last ray of hope for the country”. He also hosted a discussion with AfD top candidate Alice Weidel on X.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, asked about Musk on Tuesday, said that Germany guarantees free speech but stressed that “what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme right positions”.
The Tesla factory in Germany has been targeted by protestors in the past on environmental grounds.
In November, police cleared a protest camp in woods near the plant, where activists sought to block the site’s planned extension.
In March, a far-left group had claimed responsiblity for sabotaging power lines which supply the plant.
He doesn’t. Don’t you realize that social media manipulates you for clicks, for money? Elon Musk has been around for decades, now he makes one gesture, in front of all cameras, and people think he is a confirmed nazi? It’s just ridiculous. If I make that gesture, I’m a nazi too?
I think this is from the same playbook as Trump, just get attention, any attention. Stay in the spotlight and have people talk about you. That’s what he is doing.
The man owns Twitter. He profits from social media activity, personally. He is most likely reading all of this and laughing at people who thinks he is a nazi now.
In that case, if larping as a nazi is a viable economic strategy, i’ll just conclude that the US and its people are fascist. I mean i already knew that anyways. Elon is just awkardly trying to fit in, he is just a tailist!