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Billionaire Elon Musk has claimed the left “obviously” do not know what Nazism is, in a speech aired live on C-Span.
The Tesla CEO and X owner also said he did not classify himself as right-wing until the left “went all the way in the other direction.”
“I didn’t think of myself as right, I thought of myself as centrist, but then the left went all the way in the other direction, and now everyone’s a Nazi,” Musk said. “I’m like, wait a second, do you know what that means? Obviously not.”
His comments follow outrage online and on cable news after he made a salute many people felt was fascist during his speech at the Capitol One Arena to celebrate President Trump’s inauguration in January.
Musk pounded his chest and shot his right arm out towards the sky while talking about the potential of landing a man on Mars and planting an American flag.
He then repeated the gesture towards the American flag above the stage.
In response to the backlash, Mr. Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The “everyone is Hitler” attack is so tired.”
In his recent speech aired on C-Span, the Federal Reserve was not spared either.
“End the fed!” Mr Musk exclaimed with a raised fist when pressed on his thoughts and intentions on the US central banking system.
“I always wanted to say that,” he continued, laughing. “I think there’s like 20,000 people who work at the fed. Pretty high.”
“Why do we have so many people at the fed, and what do they do?” he added.
Musk went on to say a Magic-8 ball would win in a competition with the Federal Reserve Board over interest rates.
“I think the Magic-8 ball might win… it’s a lot cheaper,” he added before saying what really matters is that government spending is not in excess of revenue.
He said the United States’s “fundamental issue” was a $2 trillion deficit and that his “wake-up call” was knowing interest payments exceeded the entire military budget.
“That’s a disaster. The very simple, straightforward role of the DOGE team is to get rid of waste.”
The White House has said Musk was appointed as a senior adviser to President Trump but is not technically part of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
His exact role is key in the fight over access to sensitive government data that he has been granted.
