Musk could have easily come out and said "sorry, that is NOT what I was trying to do". But he hasnt... so maybe it is what he meant or he doesn't care that it was how huge numbers of people around the world took it.
Weird dude caught up in the moment and wrapped up in the power he has so close to the President. I absolutely do think he knew he was doing the Nazi salute. I don’t think he’s a Nazi or even a particularly bad guy. He knew what the reactions would be. The more outcry from the Left the better. It’s directly from Trump’s playbook. Tiptoe right up to that line but play dumb and point out how crazy your opponents are reacting. It works. Unfortunately. Middle school stuff but here we are.