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 did a nazi salute and supports the fascist party openly advocating for the naked use of state power to subjugate, destroy the life of, or kill millions (as is the logical conclusion of the logistics of finding and deporting millions) of people in nationalist "cleansings" and "purification" against minority groups. He's obsessed with breeding and perpetuates "great replacement" conspiracies. He supports the AfD. He hates and infantilises trans people (not exclusive to nazis but yaknow, they were big on that shit to the point of mass slaughter of us).
Here is a salute comparison. Do not gaslight yourself or the rest of us: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pICDVb3jztA
Yes I have seen the salute comparison, but do you think he decided to tell the world he is a nazi in front of the world's TV cameras? I really think there is something wrong with you guys and how you think, since you actually believe the man is a full blown nazi now because he made a gesture. And he profits from all this discussion since he owns Twitter!
But we won't change each other's minds. If you guys have decided he is a nazi, that's what you will think. Just trying to show the other side of it. It doesn't make sense.
Its not just the gesture, its everything else as well. You know, repeating nazi conspiracy theories about jewish people wanting to eliminate """whiteness""", supporting the AfD, etc.
And I think that yes, he would do that. I mean, look at how many people are sanewashing this and trying to pretend he hasn't even done it. Look at the fact he was cheered on by the people in the crowd while doing it.
America (or at least enough parts of it with political attentiveness and less apathy) is so far right that advocating for what amounts to mass ethnic cleansing/purges (as Trump/GOP has done, and as fascists do) is a completely accepted position by at least 30% of voters. Not to mention the plans to suborn the entire US government into a hyper authoritarian, totalising christian nationalist social-regimentation-enforcer, amongst so many other things I can't even count.
There is no other side to this. He is a Nazi or at least sympathetic to the cause. Your defense of a budding megalomaniac and accusing others here that they are in a deluded social media hole is both gross and speaks volumes more about you than them.