Students hang effigy of Elon Musk, following ‘Nazi salute’: ‘Italy isn’t messing around’
People hold up a sign with Elon Musk and riht-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on it as they attend Milano Pride 2023 on June 24, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Getty)
Students have hung an effigy of Elon Musk in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, where the body of dictator Benito Mussolini was strung up and stoned after he had been executed by Italian partisans, following Musk’s alleged use of a fascist salute at Trump’s inauguration.
The demonstration came after Elon Musk, a major donor to Donald Trump on the election trail and who will head up the new Department of Government Efficiency, was said to have given a “Nazi salute” during a speech in front of a crowd at the Capitol One Arena, in Washington DC, on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration (20 January).
While thanking voters for electing Trump, Elon Musk thumped one hand on his chest before thrusting it towards the crowd, his fingers together with the palm turned down. He then repeated the “salute” facing a huge US flag.
The gestures have been seen by some as similar to that made during the Nazi era in Germany in the 30s and 40s. Musk, however, dismissed the similarities in posts on his social media platform X/Twitter.
Communist youth group Cambiare Rotta (Change Course) has claimed responsibility for the effigy, sharing a picture of it on Facebook, next to a sign for the city square, with the caption: “There’s always room at Piazzale Loreto, Elon…”
The effigy is made from what looks like plastic bags, filled with rubbish, with the billionaire’s face affixed at the shoulders.
Today in Milan a student activist group hung a trash-filled effigy of Musk upside down on a gate outside of piazzale Loreto, where Mussolini's body was displayed in 1945.They left the message:"C'è sempre posto a piazzale Loreto, Elon"(There's always room in piazzale Loreto, Elon) pic.twitter.com/J1qg1ZNZVf
— Els Montijn (@ElsMontijn) January 21, 2025
The protest quickly went viral, with one X user sharing a headline about the incident with the comment: “Italy isn’t messing around.”
Italy isn’t messing around pic.twitter.com/7TRKVYbQxs
— pokey pup (@Whatapityonyou) January 22, 2025
Others shared video clips of the effigy:
american friends please enjoy this puppet made of trash and hung upside down with elon musk’s face on it found in milan today 😘 pic.twitter.com/luxQLA4J9Y
— ian🍉 (@barnesdjarin) January 21, 2025
Musk’s trans daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson has also called out her estranged father for the controversial salute, writing on Threads: “I’m just gonna say: let’s call a spade a f**king spade, especially if there were two spades in succession based on the reaction of the first spade.”
In a second post, she joked: “I don’t know why y’all are reacting with such vigour, I’m clearly only talking about card suits.”
Following this, Wilson made a tongue-in-cheek reference to those in recent days who have claimed Musk’s actions were due to him being autistic. “I mean I have ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and this was clearly just an accident that people happened to interpret to mean something other than just card suits,” she said.
“After all, there’s no proof I’m not just talking about card suits. Y’know… people assuming that I’m not just talking about card suits just goes to show how dishonest people/the media can be.
“For those who can read between the lines, do y’all understand how f**king easy this is to do? Plausible deniability, honey. Just saying.”
In the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration, Musk was criticised for backing the far-right Alternative for Germany Party and calling for the release of anti-Muslim, anti-immigration UK activist Tommy Robinson.
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