Elon Musk’s Far-Right Alignment: Neo-Nazi Endorsements and the Normalization of Extremist Rhetoric

Wren Crowe

3 weeks ago

Elon Musk’s recent political engagements and public statements have drawn explicit praise from neo-Nazi groups and far-right extremists globally, despite his attempts to frame controversial actions as satire. While Musk has dismissed criticism of his Nazi-salute-like gestures and historical revisionism as “tired” attacks, organized white supremacist movements have interpreted his behavior as validation of their ideologies. This report examines how Musk’s rhetoric and platform governance on X have energized neo-Nazi networks, fostered extremist recruitment, and destabilized discourse around historical accountability.

Neo-Nazi Celebrations of Musk’s Symbolic Gestures

The Inauguration Salute and Far-Right Reclamation

During Donald Trump’s 2025 presidential inauguration, Musk performed a stiff-armed salute twice—first facing the audience and then toward supporters seated behind him. While Musk later mocked accusations of Nazi symbolism as “sooo tired”6, neo-Nazi communities immediately celebrated the gesture as a watershed moment. Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right platform Gab, shared an image of Musk’s salute with the caption “Incredible things are happening already”6. On 4chan’s /pol/ board, users declared the gesture a “Sieg Heil moment” and speculated about Musk’s covert allegiance to white nationalism6.

The salute’s historical resonance was unambiguous to extremists: The palm-down, extended-arm motion directly mirrors the “Roman salute” adopted by Mussolini’s fascists and later the Nazi Party. Far-right influencers like Nick Fuentes repurposed Musk’s defense of the gesture—claiming it reflected his “heart pounding” for Trump—as tacit approval of fascist aesthetics6. For these groups, Musk’s status as a mainstream tech leader lending legitimacy to their symbols marked a strategic victory in rebranding extremism.

Holocaust “Jokes” and the Trivialization of Genocide

Musk’s January 2025 tweet mocking Holocaust remembrance further galvanized neo-Nazi support. Referencing Nazi officials Rudolf Hess and Joseph Goebbels, Musk wrote: “Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! … Bet you did nazi that coming”2. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Musk as a “great friend of Israel,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt condemned the post for minimizing the Holocaust’s gravity2.

Neo-Nazi forums interpreted Musk’s wordplay as an invitation to escalate antisemitic humor. On Telegram channels monitored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, users circulated memes combining Musk’s tweets with Holocaust denial tropes, framing his “jokes” as a covert endorsement of their revisionism7. This pattern mirrors Musk’s earlier amplification of Tucker Carlson’s interview with a Nazi apologist who called concentration camp murders “humane”7, which far-right groups cited as evidence of Musk’s ideological alignment.

X’s Algorithmic Amplification of Pro-Nazi Content

Verification for Extremists

Under Musk’s ownership, X has verified and monetized accounts promoting Nazi ideology. An April 2024 NBC investigation identified over 150 Premium-subscribed accounts sharing Hitler’s speeches, Holocaust denial, and antisemitic conspiracy theories3. These include:

@ThirdReichRevived (485K followers): Posts daily excerpts from Mein Kampf with commentary framing Nazism as “misunderstood libertarianism.”
@AryanFuturist (322K followers): Advocates for ethnostates using Musk’s tweets about “cultural dilution” as justification1.

Musk’s decision to replace X’s Trust and Safety Council with an automated “free speech” moderation system allows such accounts to thrive. When researchers at the Tech Transparency Project flagged pro-Nazi content to X in 2024, 89% of reported posts remained online, with many gaining algorithmic traction through Musk’s engagement features6.

The “Great Replacement” Pipeline

Musk’s frequent warnings about “uncontrolled immigration”1 have become a cornerstone of neo-Nazi recruitment strategies. His January 2025 post claiming “Europe will lose its cultural identity if migration continues” was cited in 4chan threads advocating violence against refugees1. Far-right groups now package Musk’s demographic anxiety with classic “Great Replacement” conspiracies, as seen in the Rise Above Movement’s pamphlet Elon’s Warning: The End of White Nations6.

Critically, Musk’s platform enables this pipeline through:

Targeted amplification: X’s algorithm prioritizes Musk’s immigration-related posts to users interested in far-right politics.
Networking tools: Pro-Nazi accounts use X Communities to organize under Musk-approved hashtags like #CulturalCohesion.
Revenue sharing: Extremist creators earn ad revenue via X Premium, incentivizing radical content.

Libertarian Masking of Ethnonationalist Agendas

Musk’s Ideological Contradictions

Musk frames his politics through libertarian principles—opposition to “woke mind viruses,” deregulation, and free speech absolutism1. However, his alliances with neo-Nazi-adjacent figures reveal deeper ideological synergies:

Steve Bannon: Musk hosted Bannon’s War Room podcast on X in 2024, where Bannon praised Musk’s “vision for a nationalist tech future”4.
Andrew Anglin: The Daily Stormer founder called Musk “our gateway to mainstream respectability” after X reinstated his account in 20236.

These relationships suggest Musk’s libertarianism serves as a palatable cover for ethnonationalist objectives. His call to “preserve German culture” at the AfD rally5, though avoiding explicit racial terms, echoed the white nationalist mantra of “14 Words” (“We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”)3.

The “Free Speech” Facade

Musk’s defense of neo-Nazi content as “sunlight is the best disinfectant”3 ignores how algorithmic systems disproportionately amplify hate speech. Research from the University of California, Berkeley, found that X’s “Freedom Mode” (launched in 2024) increased the reach of pro-Nazi accounts by 240% while suppressing anti-fascist voices6. This aligns with neo-Nazi strategies to exploit liberal values for illiberal ends—a tactic documented in the leaked “Overton Window” playbooks of the National Socialist Movement6.

Global Repercussions and Democratic Erosion

Normalizing Fascist Aesthetics

Musk’s refusal to condemn Nazi symbolism has blurred the line between irony and ideology. After Musk tweeted a meme comparing COVID lockdowns to Auschwitz in 20247, the Proud Boys incorporated the image into recruitment materials, reframing pandemic restrictions as “Jewish-led genocide”7. This pattern of plausible deniability—pairing extremist imagery with humorous disclaimers—has become a hallmark of Musk’s communication style and a gift to far-right propagandists.

Institutional Responses and Failures

While European regulators have fined X $2.3 billion under the Digital Services Act for extremist content3, Musk’s wealth and transatlantic influence shield him from accountability. The ADL’s tepid criticism of Musk—initially defending his salute as “not a Nazi symbol”2—highlights the fragility of institutional pushback. Meanwhile, Musk’s $50 million donation to the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR), a group opposing “woke censorship,” provides financial heft to narratives equating antisemitism critiques with authoritarianism2.

Conclusion: The High Cost of Musk’s “Edge”

Elon Musk’s cultivation of far-right alliances and tolerance of neo-Nazi activity on X represents more than individual bigotry—it reflects a systemic enabler of democratic backsliding. By weaponizing free speech rhetoric to platform extremists, Musk has accelerated the mainstreaming of ideologies that threaten marginalized communities and historical truth. While Musk jokes about “He/Himmler” pronouns2, neo-Nazis are organizing armed rallies under X-verified banners, confident in their billionaire-backed impunity.

Addressing this crisis requires reimagining platform governance beyond Musk’s libertarian fundamentalism. As Germany’s Holocaust memorials warn, forgetting the past isn’t an option—but under Musk’s stewardship, forgetting is becoming policy.

Foot Note:

In a recent article, The Independent reported on the controversy surrounding Steve Bannon’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). During his speech, Bannon made a gesture that many interpreted as a Nazi salute, leading to widespread criticism. Notably, white supremacist Nick Fuentes expressed discomfort with the gesture, stating, “It’s getting a little uncomfortable even for a guy like me.” Similarly, Richard Spencer, another prominent figure in extremist circles, commented on the incident, suggesting that the MAGA movement’s ideology appears incoherent.