Elon Musk has claimed ‘every politician and public speaker’ has at some point made the same gesture he did on Donald Trump’s inauguration day.
The Tesla CEO made headlines across the world with the gesture, which saw him put his hand to his chest before thrusting out his arm outstretched in the air at the end of his speech at Trump’s inauguration rally.
He then repeated the action, complete with an open palm.
Many saw similarities between the gesture and a ‘Roman salute’, which became synonymous with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in the 1930s.
Musk has repeatedly denied this was what he meant by the gesture, and has now bizarrely claimed that it is incredibly common.
Speaking to CNBC, the billionaire hit out at people who “tried to claim I was a Nazi because of some random hand gesture at a rally.”
He argued that he was simply gesturing “my heart goes out to you.”
Musk continued: “Yet the legacy media promoted that as though that was a deliberate Nazi gesture, when in fact any politician, any public speaker who has spoken for any length of time has made the exact same gesture.”
The controversial salute was lauded by far-right figures and condemned by Germans, which perhaps should tell you all you need to know.
This was the first of a number of controversies involving Musk which have prompted a widespread backlash against him and his company Tesla.
In recent weeks it has been reported that he will be stepping away from his role in Trump’s administration, to move his attention back to his businesses.
Related: Scottish Lib Dem leader sold his Tesla after Musk’s salute