DNC Shows Wisconsin Voters Musk’s Salute Ahead of Supreme Court Race

Across Wisconsin this weekend, voters will open their newspapers to see Elon Musk delivering a straight-arm salute behind Brad Schimel, the Republican nominee for Wisconsin Supreme Court, whose campaign Musk’s organizations have been boosting ahead of the April 1 election. 

“Elon Musk is trying to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat for Brad Schimel,” says the ad, purchased by the Democratic National Committee, and slated to run in eight local papers, alongside the words “Wisconsin Is Not For Sale.” 

It marks the first time that the committee is using imagery of Musk, or his gesture — interpreted by many as a “Sieg Heil” salute — in an advertisement.

“On April 1, Wisconsinites get the chance to say what Americans across this country are thinking: ‘Go to hell, Elon,’” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. “Billionaires have no business deciding our elections and Wisconsinites deserve a Supreme Court justice who looks out for them, not the ultra-wealthy. Now and forever, Wisconsin is not for sale.”

Neo-Nazis and other ethno-nationalists rejoiced when Musk performed the salute on stage the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, exactly one month after he publicly endorsed the AfD, the far-right German political party. (The AfD’s leader, Björn Höcke, has repeatedly been fined for using a political slogan favored by Nazi stormtroopers.) 

On X, the Anti-Defamation League quickly characterized Musk’s salute as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.” The organization was sharply criticized for its dismissal of the gesture. (Jonathan Greenblatt, the current head of the ADL, later expressed regret that  he didn’t “frame” the tweet differently.) On its website, the ADL defines the “Hitler Salute” as “raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down” — much like the one Musk performed twice on stage. Abe Foxman, the former head of the ADL, weighed in, declaring it “a Heil Hitler Nazi salute.”

At the time, Musk laughed off the criticism, posting a series of Nazi-related puns, including, “Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations!,” “Some people will Goebbels anything down!,” “Stop Gőring your enemies!” and “Bet you did nazi that coming.” In an interview with Joe Rogan last month, Musk clarified, “I’m not a Nazi.”

Musk has dumped over $20 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race since January, when his car company, Tesla, filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that bars car manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers. The case has not yet reached the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where Democrats currently hold a 4-3 majority that could be upended by the election.  

In addition to spending on Schimel’s behalf, Musk, as he did during the 2024 presidential race, is offering $100 — and the chance at even bigger cash prizes — to registered voters who sign petitions pledging to support his cause. This time, canvassers are asking voters to promise to “reject the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demand… a judiciary that respects its role — interpreting, not legislating.” (On Wednesday night, Musk announced he was awarding $1 million to a Green Bay voter who signed one of the petitions.) 

The DNC’s Musk ad is slated to run in eight papers across Wisconsin this weekend: the Chippewa Herald, the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, the Beloit Daily News, the Daily Jefferson County Union, the Janesville Gazette, the Watertown Daily Times and Oshkosh Northwestern.