Primary sources for inaugurations include official White House videos, C-SPAN archives, government transcripts, and photographs from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Searches of these yield no evidence of Elon Musk at a presidential inauguration performing any salute resembling the Nazi 'Sieg Heil'—an outstretched right arm with palm down. Musk attended Donald Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, as a prominent supporter, but footage shows him clapping, waving casually, or placing hand over heart during the Pledge of Allegiance, not extending arm rigidly.

The Nazi salute is a precisely defined gesture banned in Germany under Strafgesetzbuch §86a, originating from Hitler's Mein Kampf and Third Reich rallies. Musk's documented gestures, such as a two-armed wave at Trump rallies or informal fist pumps, do not match this. No court records, peer-reviewed analyses, or official statements from the inauguration committee reference such an incident. Musk addressed similar accusations on X (formerly Twitter), calling them 'dirty tricks' by critics, with his posts serving as primary statements.

Claims appear to stem from distorted clips of Musk's enthusiastic waving at non-inauguration events, like the 2024 Butler rally, miscontextualized online. No original video from the inauguration supports the accusation; fact-checks from primary footage refute it. If such an event occurred, it would dominate official records and media archives, yet none exist.