Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Germany on Thursday after a controversial motion demanding migration reforms was passed in parliament the previous day with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Tens of thousands of Germans have protested in Berlin and other cities against the rise of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party ahead of the Feb. 23 election.

American tech billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise address at the campaign launch for Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as thousands of people gathered across the country to protest the rise of the far-right party.

The AfD party is polling at about 20% before Germany's February 23 elections, a record for a party. The mainstream conservative CDU/CSU alliance leads with about 30%.

Musk's support for AfD has helped what was once a fringe political party enter the mainstream, lifting it up in front of a global audience.

Elon Musk told members of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party that "there's too much focus on past guilt," days after he gave what scholars and rights groups said was a Hitlergruß,

Elon Musk told supporters of the anti-immigrant far-Right AfD party to not feel “guilty” about the country’s Nazi past as he made a surprise video appearance at a rally in Germany.