Former Elon Musk Friend Speaks Out: He Is 'Losing His F--king Mind'

A former friend of Elon Musk spoke out during a podcast appearance recently, saying that he is "losing his f***ing mind" following the backlash to his controversial salute-like gesture.

Journalist Kara Swisher, known for interviewing prominent tech executives such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, slammed Musk for the odd salute he performed at Donald Trump's inauguration, which many social media users have compared to a "Nazi salute."

Swisher said on her podcast "On" that she thought the Tesla CEO was "losing his f***ing mind." "I think he's trolling us with these fascist salutes, and now he's been tweeting Nazi-related puns," she added.

Following the accusations of performing a Nazi salute, which Musk has denied, the SpaceX CEO tweeted out a series of Nazi-themed puns on Jan. 23, including "Bet you did nazi that coming."

"I often say that X has turned into a Nazi porn bar, and today it really is," Swisher said on the podcast.

Although Musk's gesture was dismissed as "an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm" by the Anti-Defamation League, which works to combat antisemitism, many users and prominent figures were not convinced. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the ADL's statement, saying that Musk's "Heil Hitler salute ... was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity."

Additionally, the alleged salute sparked protests both in real life and on the internet. Left-wing activists projected an image of Musk's gesture and the words "Heil Tesla" on the side of the Tesla Gigafactory in Germany, while Reddit users mulled over banning links from X from being shared in their subreddits for promoting "Nazi ideology."

Swisher and Musk used to be friends and had a good working relationship. However, the journalist noted that Musk's personality could be a bit mischievous at times, comparing his humor to "a 12-year-old" in a February 2024 interview with Fortune.

After Musk called Swisher an "a**hole" in 2022, she said their relationship fell apart. Although Musk has been subjected to criticism from Swisher, she maintained that the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding from one of her tweets.

Originally published by Latin Times.