German leader slams Elon Musk's 'Nazi salute', Tesla CEO's 'Oaf Schitz' response

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came down on Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his hand gestures at a Donald Trump celebration event that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute. The German leader said he did not accept freedom of speech if it backs "right-wing positions".

The tech billionaire, however, dismissed the criticism as a "tired" and called the German Chancellor "Oaf Schitz".

When asked about Musk's alleged hand gesture at the ongoing Davos business summit, Scholz said on Tuesday, "We have freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany". Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire. And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-right positions."

While addressing Trump supporters in Washington on Monday, the tech billionaire brought his hand to his chest and extended it straight out, twice, before saying: "My heart goes out to you." The gesture sparked controversy as it drew comparisons to a Nazi salute.

Responding to the German leader's remarks, Musk retweeted a video of Scholz making the remarks, and captioned it, "Shame on Oaf Schitz."

In another tweet, he slammed social media users who criticised his hand gesture and said, "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."

While some social media users lashed out at the Tesla CEO, others also defended him, including the Anti-Defamation League, a New York-based nonprofit, which said the gesture was "not a Nazi salute".

"It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge," the organisation, which defines the Nazi salute as “raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down”, tweeted.

Last month, Musk called the Chancellor an "incompetent fool" and urged him to resign after a deadly attack at a German Christmas market.

The SpaceX CEO waded into more controversy after he endorsed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) for the February 23 general elections, calling the far-right anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party Germany's saviour.

AfD has been labelled right-wing-extremist by German security services.