Elon Musk has attempted to involve Taylor Swift in his ongoing controversy following accusations of him making a ‘Nazi salute’ at the President’s inauguration.
This week has been tumultuous for the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, who has been thrust into the limelight after Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 20.
During Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States, rumors about Musk’s actions during the event began circulating widely online.
Social media users criticized the billionaire after claiming he seemed to perform a ‘Nazi salute’ at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, ahead of the Inauguration Day parade.
At that moment, the 53-year-old was reportedly enthusiastic about the prospect of sending a man to Mars with the American flag, during which he beat his chest and extended his arm – not once but twice.
The Anti-Defamation League defended Musk, describing it as an ‘awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm’. In response, Musk stated that critics need ‘better dirty tricks’ and remarked that the ‘everyone is Hitler’ narrative is overused.
Musk, who is a father to 12 children, also took aim at Wikipedia co-founders, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, after a mention of the incident appeared on his Wikipedia page.
He also responded to US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who labeled his arm motion as a ‘Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity’. Musk retorted by saying she had ‘lost her marbles.’
Some Tesla owners have expressed their intention to distance themselves from the company due to ’embarrassment’.
Despite this, Musk appears to be persisting with the issue, now allegedly involving Taylor Swift in the situation.
He shared two edited images of the pop star with her right arm raised, drawing a comparison or joke suggesting Swift made a similar gesture that could be mistaken for a ‘Nazi salute’.
One of the tweets with the image read: “My god. Not her too,” while the second said: “Does this mean Swifties = Hitler youth?” with an image of Swift next to an image of Hitler.
Reddit users have criticized Musk again, pointing out that the picture is a screenshot of Swift blowing a kiss to the crowd after performing in New York in 2014, with the image altered to show ‘the correct arm’ associated with the Nazis.
Fans have quickly joined the discussion, with many urging the ‘Love Story’ singer to take legal action against him.
“This is the one time I’m gonna actually say this, but Swifties… This is your moment to shine. Rise up on this fool! I’m sat,” another joked, “UNLEASH THEM! I want them in their most rabid form on this.”
Others have accused Musk of having an ‘obsession’ with the 35-year-old and continue to slam him for not providing a comprehensive explanation beyond retweets ‘with emojis’.
“Elon Musk is such a weirdo,” one user remarked, “If he has no haters I’m dead.”
Following the incident, Musk’s only tweet on the subject stated: “The radical leftists are really upset that they had to take time out of their busy day praising Hamas to call me a Nazi.”