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Like his mates dared him to do it.
He doesn't have mates. Just a bunch of transactions. Like the orange sack of shit he (for now) reports to.
White ppl love making excuses like this
Oh the ironing.
Usually accompanied by placing the forefinger across the upper lip to signify the moustache.
Ha, I used to get this, usually from schoolkids. Also they had a funny tendency to start sneezing: "aaahh. Jew!"
I daresay it was a genuine sneeze that happened to sound funny in context. <rolleyes emoji>
He doesn’t have mates. Just a bunch of transactions.
True but he still looked like a teenager spurred on by his chums, it's all in his mouth, like he took a deep breath before doing it.
I think we often forget that all the money in the world can't necessarily fix emotional damage done to the likes of Trump, Musk and Zuckerberg earlier in life. For all the money they have they are the same as everyone else between the ears and it's clear being a bit weird, not successful with 'chicks', not being a 'jock', being lonely and unpopular when growing up still hangs around their neck like a Jim'll Fix It medal.
The salute is a distraction. You need to be looking a what he and this govt actually does. Plenty of material there without looking for arm gestures.
He's a narcissist. He just wants to get the attention and that has worked. For all his wealth and power he comes across as deeply insecure.
Look at where he puts his money. Twitter, space exploration. He could do huge things with his wealth improving the lives of millions for generations. But that's not going to get him the instant acknowledgement he wants.
No idea on the answer.
Worrying times. Even if we avoid any large acute problems we have had successive damaging and backwards decisions over the last decade creating problems for ourselves that need never exist.
I have a feeling that continually sniping at these people and the microscopic level criticism over absolutely everything they do/say 24/7 isn’t actually helping anything and is more likely to make people support them than detest them
The point is well made about Trump using a Sharpie.
This however is a ****ing Nazi salute and has to be called out as such
PMSL!
Needs a hat on the top left...
Elon and Trump are obvious fascists. Trying to reduce the size and power of the state is straight out of the authoritarian playbook.
This however is a **** Nazi salute and has to be called out as such
I don’t disagree but it’s going to make fek all difference, the brown shirts have literally just been let out of prison.
I wonder if Trump will get the parades he wanted last time.
SwastiCar
I'm sensing a market for discreet bumper stickers we could attach to Teslas....
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Internet, a friend of a friend is picking a fight over whether Muskrat's (alleged) salute is a Nazi symbol or a fascist one.
Speaking as a professional Internet Gobshite, even I don't know how to start to unpick this. Like, this is the salient point in the matter? That's what you want to pluck at?
:shrug: :eyeroll:
pretty sure ledbydonkeys could be in trouble for this
at the Tesla factory in Berlin tonight
The community note is just lovely
The poster's account has now been suspended, proving yet again that the only person Musk thinks should have the right to free speech is Musk. Don't know what happened to the people who wrote the community note…
pretty sure ledbydonkeys could be in trouble for this
at the Tesla factory in Berlin tonight
Oh that's phenomenal.
And, brave.
I’m sensing a market for discreet bumper stickers we could attach to Teslas….
I'm in!
Bumper stickers for me too
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Given how wrapped up Tesla is in brand Elon, you’d have to be fairly thick skinned, agree with him or both to order a Tesla now.
a friend of a friend is picking a fight over whether Muskrat’s (alleged) salute is a Nazi symbol or a fascist one.
I have seen similar. I guess anyone using it face to face might think it works when their opponent just stares at them wondering wtf.
I mean,
It would be easy to cherry-pick a photo of someone who happened to have their hand in the air, and the intertubes would be all over it with zero fact-checking. There's a similar photo doing the rounds of that well-known neo-nazi Taylor Swift waving to a crowd.
I'd be happy to give Muskrat the benefit of the doubt as I've not yet seen the footage first-hand (as it were). But arguing over the definition of Nazism seems to me to be a very peculiar hill to choose to die on.
I’d be happy to give Muskrat the benefit of the doubt
There was an article in The Atlantic yesterday saying that Musk is often very awkward in his movements and it's quite possible that it was not intentional, but the key thing will be whether he says it was just an awkward gesture or says nothing.
quite possible that it was not intentional
In other news, Adolf and his chums were just out on a nice drive in Eastern Germany, when all their brakes failed and they unintentionally found themselves halfway across Poland.
it’s quite possible that it was not intentional
he did it twice
There is no mention of "trouble" for led by donkeys in this report I read this morning (you will probably need an online translator to read it). They did question whether it was genuine, however given led by donkeys track record of projecting images onto buildings which may not be so well known in Germany, I suspect it probably was real.
it’s quite possible that it was not intentional
he did it twice
Trouble is people are desperate for a smoking gun, if you don’t like Musk it’s definitely a Nazi salute if your less of a hater your more likely to cut some slack as he does seem to be like Tigger on speed.
Your arguing around the minute details when it’s pretty obvious where his support for Tommy and friends lays.
In the meantime Trump has released the patriots that were attempting to stop the steal and he is now rewriting history and running with that storyline again that he didn’t lose the election - this is a much more worrying thing.
I did see the footage and it looked like he psyched himself up for it like he knew what he was doing, it was like he knew it would be an attention grabber. Perhaps he thought trump was getting more attention?
I thought it was once, twice, 3 times a Nazi?
So Musk is a key player in the white supremacy running through the new trump administration. And Nazi salute or no, you just need to look at what happened on Tuesday to dismantle equality legislation .. Federal DEI programs have been pulled and federal employees are on admin leave as of yday evening. He rescinded an LBJ exec order to eliminate racial discrimination from 1965 that was a hard fought outcome of the civil rights battle back then. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-place-federal-dei-staff-paid-leave-starting-wednesday-2025-01-22/
This is really retrograde thinking, and an awful direction of travel.
The KKK were out leafleting immigrants in Kentucky telling them to leave. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/kkk-immigrants-flyers-kentucky
But no Musk was just waving......
DEI programmes across the US have been falling since mid 2024. It became an avalanche after his November win. Everyone in business could see which way the wind was blowing and have used this as a mandate to roll back many of these initiatives. I'd imagine that there's some accounting benefits which they will espouse, but that for many, they simply didn't like or want them in the first place and are using this as an excuse.
Also, to anyone suggesting he might have done it in error: he knows the difference.
Wondering how Farage is handling this? Trump seems very binary in this thinking, presumably he'll have to join in with the all the public displays of racism, or he'll be another left-wing extremist. There seems to be very little middle ground anymore.
this is really worth watching:
I’m sensing a market for discreet bumper stickers we could attach to Teslas…
My other car is a Panzer
it’s quite possible that it was not intentional
I think that if I, somehow, in the eyes of millions of people, made a gesture that people were describing as a Nazi/fascist/Roman salute, my response would be more along the lines of being mortified and profusely apologetic, and not "oh look how the wokes are accusing everyone of being Nazis now". And when it became clear that a whole bunch of neo-Nazis are cheering along because they believed I had intentionally made that gesture, I'd be very emphatic in telling them to **** off and that I had no wish to be associated with them in any manner.
Personally anyone who does not sound similarly mortified and who isn't making it perfectly clear they are not happy to be associated with neo-Nazis after making such a gesture does not deserve much in the way of the benefit of the doubt.
Saw this on a YouTube comment - Elon Musk is the Reichest man in the World
I think that if I, somehow, in the eyes of millions of people, made a gesture that people were describing as a Nazi/fascist/Roman salute, my response would be more along the lines of being mortified and profusely apologetic
That was the point of the article in The Atlantic, sometimes people make awkward gestures, but the key thing to watch is what happens afterwards.
the key thing to watch is what happens afterwards
The key thing to watch is what happened before... what more context is needed?
"Only AfD can save Germany, end of story," declared Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, during a live stream discussion broadcasted on X with Alice Weidel, leader for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), on Thursday, January 9. "People really need to get behind AfD, otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany."
Yep, we all knew what he was before, the cesspit he created in twitter, the funding of far right parties, the support for Yaxley-Lennon and his ilk. His seig heil moment didn't really move the dial.
Removing oligarchy money from politics and ending the ridiculous lobbying system should be one of the highest priorities for any government that has even a fleeting interest in democracy (far far more important than reforming the house of lords in the uk). I won't hold my breath waiting though, I haven't seen any indication that western leaders see the dangers even when so graphicly laid out for them and are willing to act, I can't even remember any one other than Bernie Sanders voicing the problem.
I think that if I, somehow, in the eyes of millions of people, made a gesture that people were describing as a Nazi/fascist/Roman salute, my response would be more along the lines of being mortified and profusely apologetic, and not “oh look how the wokes are accusing everyone of being Nazis now”. And when it became clear that a whole bunch of neo-Nazis are cheering along because they believed I had intentionally made that gesture, I’d be very emphatic in telling them to **** off and that I had no wish to be associated with them in any manner.
*Applause*
And so much more important than trying to guess what goes on in that guy's head or his motives.
You're either 100% against this stuff or you're potentially part of it, since being neutral isn't much of an option based on what history has shown us.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rEVAvrrEN1PPswpTCYZmi
I thought this was good, The Rest Is Politics discussing Elon Musk a few weeks before his 'salute' thing. Rory Stewart mentions them shifting 'the Overton window', interesting point on how these guys all allow each other to be a bit more far right, bit by bit, plausible deniability covering them along the way.
And that's a concept that James OBrien and Dr Ahmed get onto in the LBC clip posted on the previous page (which is very good) - how the salute can be seen as part of a strategy of normalising this kind of thing, bringing it into the mainstream to normalise it. Slow boiling water.
After watching that LBC clip and hearing about the way cryptocurrency is (or can be) used against established democracy I looked up the bitcoin price in the months before and since the US election results. Oh..
If Trump and Musk start talking about the $ as becoming less important than it was ...
PayPal was the start of Thiel and Musk's endeavors to subvert (international)/national bank oversight - and crypto the obvious next step to subvert democracy.
Trump (or the people pulling his strings) is making his crypto position pretty clear already....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/howard-lutnick-secretary-commerce-nominee
I’m sensing a market for discreet bumper stickers we could attach to Teslas….
Bit unfair on people who bought before the owner decided to go full banana.
Don’t forget Porsche’s Tiger Tank model they don’t tend to market anymore or forget VW’s use of slave labour if your going down the car blaming route 🙁
Bit unfair on people who bought before the owner decided to go full banana.
They can cover it with one of the stickers saying they brought it before he went nuts.
Don’t forget Porsche’s Tiger Tank model they don’t tend to market anymore or forget VW’s use of slave labour if your going down the car blaming route
As far as I am aware their current CEOs arent in favour of those? So seems like possibly it could be considered different. Although when to stop holding companies/people responsible is always tricky. For example I cant really blame those ex pows who never forgave Japan and so always boycotted them.
Ford would be a better comparison as well since Musk does seem a close reinvention of him.
crypto the obvious next step to
hiding a load of cash from the taxman?
I hear the uber rich aren't keen on paying tax.
Sometimes people make mistakes. Apologizing afterwards makes a big difference.
Cruise Line Insists Crew Dressed Up as ‘Snow Cones’ Not KKK
A great video. Torn between thinking reading that book* could be either the best or worst thing I could do right now.
[ * Alt Reich, by Nafeez Ahmed ]
Apologies if it's been done, but someone sent me a link to the salute video.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cpdxzjw9p47o
There is no way on this Earth that's anything other than a dog whistle with a side order of plausible deniability, it's surely intentional.
Led by Donkeys have posted their video now:
He's not a naughty boy. He's a fascist.
Bit unfair on people who bought before the owner decided to go full banana.
Just for clarity, when was the man not a complete ****?
Don’t forget Porsche’s Tiger Tank model they don’t tend to market anymore or forget VW’s use of slave labour if your going down the car blaming route
Is he also wearing Hugo Boss designed suits?
Just in case anyone had any doubts, here's a historian writing about how there's no trace of the Roman salute in the history of the Romans, and when ts invented (clue: much much later):
https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-and-the-history-of-the-roman-salute-248032
Well here's an interesting turn of events, the American Zionist organisation the Anti-Defamation League, which initially defended Elon Musk's Nazi salute, has finally had enough of him. Apparently they weren't too impressed with Elon Musk's hilarious puns about the Holocaust. :
The Anti-Defamation League Is Finally Sick of Elon Musk’s Nazi Jokes
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/adl-elon-musk-nazi-jokes-1235244824/
No such problem for fellow far-right racist Benjamin Netanyahu however. A man who has always had a special relationship with the truth Netanyahu has jumped in to Elon Musk's defence claiming that he has been "falsely smeared".
Netanyahu jumps to Musk’s defense over salute: ‘Falsely smeared’
Musk supporting the AfD again ahead of the elections…
So Netanyahu - leader of the only Jewish nation - is OK with the salute, and presumably the support for a German far right group.
That's not a good look.
(Yes, I know Netanyahu is also far right)
Although when to stop holding companies/people responsible is always tricky. For example I cant really blame those ex pows who never forgave Japan and so always boycotted them.
My dad was a PoW after Singapore fell to the Japanese, he was in the RAF, ground crew, and was incarcerated in Changi. Look it up. He never talked about his experiences, but he never said anything about the Japanese that was defamatory, and I have a pair of Japanese made binoculars that were his.
I never saw him without a vest or tee shirt, because of the scars on his back. He died when I was 13, 57 years ago; there’s so much I could have learned from him when I was a lot older, had he lived,
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/prisoners-of-war-in-ww2/changi-pow-camp/
Musk not even trying to hide it anymore, his speech to the afD conference was jam-packed with far-right codes about Germans being proud of their 'culture' and the problems of racial 'dilution' due to multiculturalism.
The EU needs to take steps to remove his platform in Europe.
I'm assuming his shit stirring hate spawning comments must make his ability to get a visa to get into the UK or Europe a bit problematic..... ?
So Netanyahu – leader of the only Jewish nation – is OK with the salute, and presumably the support for a German far right group.
Modern nazism isn't about hating Jews per se anymore.... It's about hating "others".
Original Nazism didn’t just use Jews as the only “other” to blame, be afraid of, and attack either. There were other targets used by them as well.
Getting more up to date… support for the Israeli hard right can come from very strange quarters, there are Christian religious fundamentalists that are antisemitic yet want Jews contained, somewhere away from them, ready for a religious event they believe is coming. Some non-Christian cults and conspiracy theory followers are obsessed with this idea as well, while also believing that Jews are trying to displace them in North America and Europe. Looking for logic in hatred and othering can be a pointless task.
I’m assuming his shit stirring hate spawning comments must make his ability to get a visa to get into the UK or Europe a bit problematic….. ?
Be pretty easy for him to dodge the need. Just buy an passport with "citizenship via investment". Malta and Cyprus I think are the EU countries of choice.
He’s doesn’t tend to bother travelling to the EU; popping up on a big screen at a rally, or small screens in millions of hands, suits him just fine.
Don’t forget Porsche’s Tiger Tank model
Neatly pointed out by SNL last night.
Musk can't be a Nazi, they made the best cars (pic of cyvertruck)
Netanyahu jumps to Musk’s defense over salute: ‘Falsely smeared’
A character reference from Netanyahu is the cherry on top of the icing on the cake.
Does is anyone else now tempted to heil all the Tesla’s as they drive past? I mean, if it’s okay to use a Nazi salute, then it must be highly appropriate to return the salute via their chosen proxy/vehicle, right?
I mean, just how quickly could we crater Tesla’s share price if this were to take off?
Yes, it takes a lot of restraint now.
I very nearly lapsed and started shouting "Schnell, Schnell kartoffellkopf" at a bloke washing his tesla when I was out running
Does is anyone else now tempted to heil all the Tesla’s as they drive past? I mean, if it’s okay to use a Nazi salute, then it must be highly appropriate to return the salute via their chosen proxy/vehicle, right?
I like the idea, but as I'm in Germany I think I'll refrain..... Much like the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (high brow paper) refrained from showing Musk given the infamous salute as it would technically land them in a load of shit if they posted it.
Does is anyone else now tempted to heil all the Tesla’s as they drive past?
Yup. It was already hard not to shout/gesture with two fingers admiration of the muskrat without him providing a way of showing its for him rather than the actual driver.
Does is anyone else now tempted to heil all the Tesla’s as they drive past?
I had one driving right up my arse yesterday as I stuck to the 30mph limit. I was waiting to give him the salute if he went for a dodgy overtake.
Yes, it takes a lot of restraint now.
I very nearly lapsed and started shouting “Schnell, Schnell kartoffellkopf” at a bloke washing his tesla when I was out running
TBH it’s childish,it’s not the owners fault that Musk did the salute and has gone full right winger, just sounds like you want to shout abuse at some one else just like those people who give cyclists a hard time, it’s not a good look.
anyone else now tempted to…
Not at all. Seeing Starlink going over? Maybe… there’s something very unnerving about the mark of someone like him being visible in the night sky.
People who buy Teslas clearly don't care, just as people who buy other products where the dubious owner/head is well known as a ****er. Not sure if that will change now he is even more of a ****er than he was a few years ago.
So Netanyahu – leader of the only Jewish nation – is OK with the salute, and presumably the support for a German far right group.
That’s not a good look.
To be Israeli has always meant pragmatism first, everything else second. In the 70s Israel cooperated with apartheid South Africa on nuclear research and intelligence, despite the then president of South Africa, John Vorster having been interned during WW2 for pro-Nazi sympathies.
Israel's first loyalty is to itself, even if that means collaborating with very unseemly characters.