01 March 2025 , 07:13
427
0
Elon Musk sparked outrage when he appeared to perform a Nazi salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, accusations the SpaceX CEO claimed were part of a "dirty tricks campaign" against him.
Elon Musk has sensationally insisted a gesture - described by some as a "Nazi salute" - was "meant in the most positive spirit possible".
The tech entrepreneur, 53, faced a backlash when he performed the hand motion at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Clips were widely shared on social media of Mr Musk, CEO of SpaceX, making the weird gestures in front of jubilant supporters.
He has now appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and in his three-hour chat, published on Friday, Mr Musk defended the motion. The entrepreneur told the host it was "meant in the most positive spirit possible". However, Mr Rogan, a comedian and actor, told the billionaire, "you did it with a little enthusiasm that probably wouldn’t be recommended with hindsight."
In one of the first times Mr Musk has spoken about the controversy, he doubled down on it being playful. He stressed he did not seeing the backlash coming - despite performing the gesture in front of the world’s media at the United States Capitol.
Mr Musk, a senior advisor to the US President, has remained unusually quiet following Mr Trump’s spat with President Volodymyr Zelensky during their meeting at the White House. Mr Trump turfed out the Ukrainian leader after shouting at him in front of journalists.
Keir Starmer and Mr Trump formed an unlikely "bromance" as the pair discussed the ongoing peace talks with the Ukrainian war this week. Mr Musk is yet to address this on social media.
But in the Joe Rogan podcast, the tech entrepreneur was quick to derail the conversation to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has had its authority challenged in court recently.
Mr Musk claimed DOGE will save the US an estimated $100 billion (£79 million) per year through changes to the Treasury Department’s payment categorisation codes used to identify where department transactions are being made. Receipts of supposed cuts and savings made by DOGE have contained discrepancies and errors, it has been alleged.
The lengthy podcast was published days after Mr Musk threatened he will sack every single US federal government employee who doesn’t comply with one demand within a 48-hour window, again relating to DOGE. He said all employees must respond promptly to an email set to be sent this week - or face the chop.