Musk's response to the accusations has included the complaint that the "legacy media" is trying to cancel him.

An image of Elon Musk making a controversial salute during a speech on Monday was projected onto Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin. The display featured Musk's gesture alongside the words "Heil Tesla." Newsweek reached out to Tesla's communications team for comment on Wednesday.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, standing behind a podium bearing the Seal of the President of the United States, on Monday twice gave what scholars, journalists and rights groups said was a Hitlergruß,