I’ve been following Yann on TikTok for a while (and on YouTube for 5 minutes) and I really like what he shares. In his latest video that I put here, he talks about Elon Musk’s gesture during his appearance on stage in Austin on January 19. This gesture, the moment I saw it, left no room for doubt in my mind. Arm outstretched, fingers clenched, palm down: the similarity with the Nazi salute was striking and extremely uncomfortable. I preferred Mikael Vendetta’s “heavenly fuck” for once. At least it was funny there.
Musk’s defenders then rushed to bring out a whole arsenal of lame historical explanations: Bellamy’s salvation, the so-called “Roman salvation” (which historically never existed in this form), or even a simple manifestation of awkward enthusiasm “because yes, uh, you understand Musk has Aspergers and Aspergers are idiots incapable of restraining a happy little Nazi salute when they are happy. It doesn’t hurt anyone”.
But as Yann perfectly explains with his historian’s hat, these justifications do not hold water. The context is crucial: we are in 2025, alongside a far-right president, and this gesture carries a symbolic charge that no one can ignore.
If you don’t agree with this, I invite you to film yourself with your smartphone and do your best Roman salute just like daddy Elon and share it on your social networks. Well what? Where is the problem?
-The most revealing thing is obviously the total absence of excuses or even explanations from the main person concerned. In a world where the slightest public figure would be immediately called upon to explain such a gesture, this silence speaks volumes.
I will therefore let you discover Yann’s detailed and documented analysis, which methodically deconstructs the attempts at historical revisionism used to justify the unjustifiable.
That way, you won’t be able to say that you didn’t know and you’ll have solid arguments at the coffee machine.
