Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk said Tuesday his critics needed "better dirty tricks" after a flap over a gesture he made at an inauguration event for President Donald Trump that some likened to a Nazi salute.
The the Anti-Defamation League, an organization founded to combat antisemitism that has criticized Musk in the past, also defended him.
The X, SpaceX, and Tesla chief appeared on stage at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., where supporters of the newly inaugurated president had gathered for a rally.
Upon thanking the crowd for returning Trump to the White House, Musk tapped the left side of his chest with his right hand and then extended his arm with his palm open, repeating the gesture for the crowd seated behind him.
Claire Aubin, a historian who specializes in Nazism in the United States, used the Musk-owned X platform to label the gesture a "sieg heil," or Nazi salute.
"My professional opinion is that you're all right, you should believe your eyes," Aubin posted, aligning with those who found the gesture was an overt reference to Nazis.
But Musk later posted on X that his opponents needed "better dirty tricks."
"The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired," he said.
"It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute," the ADL said in a statement posted on X.
Another historian, Aaron Astor, also rebuffed accusations of Musk's Nazi emulation.
"I have criticized Elon Musk many times for letting neo-Nazis pollute this platform," he wrote on X, adding: "But this gesture is not a Nazi salute."
"This is a socially awkward autistic man's wave to the crowd where he says 'my heart goes out to you.'"
Musk announced in 2021 he had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.
One attendee at the rally told AFP he thought Musk was making the gesture as a joke.
"He's very humorous, and he uses a lot of sarcasm. So when he did that on the stage, I don't think he meant it," said Brandon Galambos, a 29-year-old pastor and tech worker.