Left-wing activists have projected a giant image of Elon Musk doing a gesture that has been likened to a Nazi salute alongside the word “heil” on to Tesla’s Berlin factory.

Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty and the UK group Led By Donkeys beamed a photo of Mr Musk with his arm outstretched, which he did at a Trump rally on Monday night, on to the nine-metre-high building on Wednesday night.

They also projected the words “heil” and “boycott” alongside the large Tesla logo, as if to read “heil Tesla” or “boycott Tesla”.

Mr Musk has faced criticism both inside Germany and beyond for Monday night’s salute, in which he twice slapped his chest before raising his outstretched arm into the air.