Musk's Nazi salute was shown with a projector on the facade of the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg factory
On Wednesday evening, 22 January, activists used a projector to display a photo of billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk on the facade of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg electric car factory in Grünheide, Germany. The photo, taken while speaking at a rally in Washington after the inauguration of the 47th US President Donald Trump, shows Musk performing a Nazi salute with his right hand.
Next to the billionaire's image, activists have designed the inscription "HEIL". Together with the existing "TESLA" inscription on the facade of the building, the resulting inscription "HEIL TESLA" - a reference to the famous Nazi slogan.
Here's What We Know
The activist groups"Zentrum für Politische Schönheit" and"Led By Donkeys" took responsibility for the performance. They announced this on their pages on the social network X (formerly Twitter), which is also owned by Musk. In this way, the activists called for a boycott of Tesla products.
Photo of Elon Musk with the caption "HEIL" on the facade of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. Source: @politicalbeauty / X
Musk twice displayed the Nazi salute on 21 January while addressing Donald Trump fans at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. The Tesla CEO punched himself in the chest with his right hand before spreading his fingers and turning his palm downward, turning his hand diagonally upward.
Update: Berlin-Brandenburg police told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that they have no evidence of the punch. A security guard at the Tesla factory was also unable to confirm this information. In response, the "Zentrum für Politische Schönheit" published another photo at X showing the projector beams:
Wir haben gestern über eine Stunde aus der Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin Kunst gemacht. Die Polizei scheint schon in der faschistischen Totalüberwachung angekommen zu sein und wütet gegenüber den Medien: "Das Foto ist ein Fake." Weil sie keine "Feststellungen" gemacht haben. Well... pic.twitter.com/70iHYAIGP8
- Zentrum für Politische Schönheit (@politicalbeauty) January 23, 2025
"Zentrum für Politische Schönheit" (English: "Centre for Political Beauty") is an activist group from Germany that draws attention to humanitarian issues and the protection of human life through artistic performances.
"Led By Donkeys" is a British political group established in December 2018 as an alliance of activists against Brexit and other government initiatives. This group also uses artistic performances to draw attention to the hypocrisy and incompetence of politicians.
Source: @politicalbeauty
