As Musk referenced in his email, the report says the banks hope to use the narrative of Musk’s link to Donald Trump, as some unnamed investors may be interested in buying based on a belief that its financials are on the way up.

Elon Musk had sharp words for a private-sector partnership touted this week by the Trump administration to hasten the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure. “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk said of two of the participants in the $500 billion initiative, OpenAI and SoftBank, on his social media site X.

Musk's response to the accusations has included the complaint that the "legacy media" is trying to cancel him.

A gesture associated with the Nazis has a surprising history. But in Germany, there was little doubt about its meaning.