SNL Mocks Elon Musk’s ‘Salute’ at Donald Trump Inauguration

Saturday Night Live (SNL) made a jibe at Elon Musk in the January 25 episode of the show, mocking the gesture the Tesla CEO made at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, which sparked debate online.

Newsweek has contacted Saturday Night Live, and the press offices of Musk’s companies X, Tesla, and SpaceX via email for comment.

Why It Matters

Musk’s gesture, which some called a “Nazi salute,” has sparked outrage among some Democratic lawmakers in the U.S., as well as politicians and media outlets in Europe.

Musk has also previously made headlines for openly supporting Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, and his associations with such parties have added to concerns about the salute.

What To Know

Last night’s show of SNL featured Timothée Chalamet as host and the musical guest, and he played some Bob Dylan classics live after his recent performance as the music legend in the biopic A Complete Unknown.

In one of the show’s skits, “Weekend Update,” SNL comedian Michael Che mentioned the gesture Musk had made during Trump’s inauguration, saying he “appears to give the Nazi salute.”

Che then went on to say, “But come on, Elon Musk is not a Nazi … the Nazis made nice cars.” This seemed a reference to the origins of the Volkswagen Beetle car, while at the same time, Che also showed a picture of the Tesla Cybertruck.

Tesla has become a target for the jibes aimed at Musk over the gesture; for example, the British activist group, Led By Donkeys, projected an image of the X, formerly Twitter, owner’s salute onto Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, along with the phrase “Heil Tesla,” British online newspaper the Independent reported.

Musk previously responded to the comments he faced over the gesture, writing on X that his critics needed “better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

SNL comedian Chloe Fineman posted on her Instagram story to say, “Remember when I got in trouble for calling out Mr Nazi Salute? Ya no regrets,” on January 21, according to the Independent.

In November last year, Fineman shared in a TikTok post, which she deleted a few hours after, that Musk had made her cry because of his comments about the sketch she had written for his appearance on the show in 2021.

What People Are Saying

@Rob_Motto, wrote on X: “Che would be funny if he could get rid of the political garbage. His show on Netflix was a good example some funny stuff and some really try hard cringe bullshit trying to make fun of Trump supporters. See you have to like the subject you’re making fun of for it to be funny. Comedy 101.”

@Jenny_IDLYITW wrote on X: “SNL needs a massive purge of its unfunny political propaganda. Or Lorne could finally retire and SNL with him.”

@Didier_Kahungu posted on X: “No one is safe with these two.”

@THeMyerSHOW added on X: “These two are the only reason SNL is still on the air, great work boys.”

What Happens Next

As the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk is expected to serve in a key role during the second Trump administration. When he shared a clip of his full “Presidential Parade” speech to X, Musk wrote that “the future is so exciting.”