Billionaire Elon Musk sparked controversy on Monday after making a gesture at an event celebrating US President Donald Trump's inauguration, with some calling it a "Nazi" or "fascist" movement

Axar.az reports that that footage of the event has gone viral on social media.

"This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you," he said as he thumped his right hand over his heart and extended the arm out at an upward angle with his palm down and fingers together.

He then made the same gesture to the crowd behind him.

"My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," Musk said after the gesture.

Musk, however, dismissed the criticism.

"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired," he posted on his social media platform X.