"God he's so insufferable"— Netizens criticize Elon Musk for posting jokes about Nazi leaders days after the salute controversy

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk doubled down on the controversy following his alleged Sieg heil salute during US President Donald Trump's inauguration event. Musk has now fueled the drama with a series of Nazi puns.

On Thursday, January 23, the X, Tesla, and SpaceX boss referred to several Nazi personalities, including Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, and the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, in a series of trollish puns on the platform. He wrote,

"Don't say Hess to Nazi accusations! / Some people with Goebbels anything down!"

Elon Musk also referenced Nazili military leader Hermann Göring and SS chief Heinrich Himmler in other lines.

"Stop Gőring your enemies! / His pronouns would've been He/Himmler! / Bet you did Nazi that coming."

Netizens have since shared their reaction towards Musk's puns amid the controversy of his alleged Nazi salute. One Reddit user called the tech mogul "insufferable."

"God he's so insufferable," a Reddit user wrote.

Other netizens weren't too fond of Elon Musk's tweet, with some calling his latest post "horrifyingly poor taste" and asking him to put his phone down.

"This is in such horrifyingly poor taste," a user on X commented.

"Elon, it's time to put the phone down and go touch some grass," another X user wrote.

"That's inappropriate, Elon. We should use humor to unite, not divide. I believe in promoting kindness," an X user added.

Some netizens have had it with Elon Musk's jokes, who has since shared pictures of different personalities, including Taylor Swift, showing supposed Nazi salutes on his X account earlier this week. Many are asking Musk to explain his point instead of laughing the controversy off with jokes.

"Why don't you just explain what your point was instead of laughing it off with jokes? It doesn't contribute to a good climate. As a Tesla owner and shareholder myself, you have always been an inspiration to me, but now I am not sure anymore," an X user wrote.

"Why not just clarify the intention behind the hand gesture, instead of leaving everybody speculating," another user on X commented.

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Elon Musk incites criticism from Anti-Defamation League over holocaust jokes

After Elon Musk shared a series of Nazi-related jokes on his X account, he didn't only incite criticism from netizens but also from the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit that combats antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the nonprofit, commented on Musk's series of puns referencing Nazi party members Rudolf Hess, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, and Heinrich Himmler. He addressed Musk in a tweet and wrote,

"We've said it hundreds of times before and we will say it again: the Holocaust was a singularly evil event, and it is inappropriate and offensive to make light of it. @elonmusk, the Holocaust is not a joke."

The Anti-Defamation League previously defended Musk over his "awkward gesture" at Trump's inauguration event. They said via their official X account that Elon Musk's controversial salute was "not a Nazi salute," but that they appreciated that it got people on edge.

That said, with Greenblatt's latest comment criticizing Elon Musk's Holocaust-related jokes, the Anti-Defamation League has yet to comment further on whether they are rethinking or backtracking their initial statement defending the tech mogul.