Elon Musk, the former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump, continues to challenge the South African transformation policies, alleging that his company Starlink, was denied a licence because of his skin colour.
Image: Angela Weiss / AFP
The world's richest man and business magnate, Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, continues to target and criticise the country’s transformative policies, particularly the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), which he has labelled as “extremely racist”.
This is after he alleged that his satellite internet service, Starlink, was denied a licence to operate in South Africa because he is not Black, even though he was born in the country.
He described the regulations as “extremely racist” and a “shameful disgrace” to Nelson Mandela’s legacy, calling for sanctions to be imposed on politicians who are protecting the BBBEE laws.
For years, Starlink was unable to obtain an operating licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) due to the Electronic Communications Act, which is part of the BBBEE laws requiring 30% equity ownership by historically disadvantaged individuals.
Although Musk has previously discussed entering the market, ICASA confirmed in March 2025 that Starlink had not officially applied for the necessary licences, despite complaining about the regulations.
Musk alleged that his company was repeatedly offered opportunities to “bribe” its way to a licence by misrepresenting its ownership to bypass race-based requirements, which he refused on principle.
“Racism should not be rewarded, no matter to which race it is applied. Shame on the racist politicians in South Africa. They should be shown no respect whatsoever anywhere in the world and shunned for being unashamedly racist,” he said, adding that all South African politicians who “push their viciously racist laws” should be sanctioned, barred from travel, declared criminals and have their international assets seized.
This comes after AfriForum last month called on the US to impose targeted sanctions on ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, following threats from the US government to sanction South African officials and introduce punitive economic measures against South Africa.
Musk is also the former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump.
After returning to the office in January 2025, Trump and his administration moved to review the US-South Africa relations and threatened sanctions against ANC leaders, due to South Africa’s foreign policy and domestic land reform plans.
The country’s close ties with Russia, China, and Iran were viewed as undermining US national security.
Trump publicly criticised South Africa's Expropriation Act, alleging it involved “confiscating land” and treating certain groups “very badly”.
The proposed US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 aimed to identify leaders involved in corruption or human rights abuses for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.
Alongside individual sanction threats, the Trump administration imposed 30% tariffs on South African goods as part of a broader trade strategy.
Asked to comment on Musk’s remarks, Mbalula, referred the request to spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, who did not respond to messages and calls.
During a media briefing following an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in August 2025, Mbalula stated that ANC leaders are prepared to face sanctions from the US rather than abandon sovereign policy goals, particularly regarding economic transformation and the BBBEE laws.
Musk also engaged in a heated public exchange on the social media platform X with Clayson Monyela, the Deputy Director-General (DDG) at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), after Monyela challenged his honesty, stating that the licensing delay has nothing to do with skin colour.
Monyela highlighted that over 600 US companies, including giants like Microsoft, are currently “complying and thriving” in South Africa under the same legal framework.
Political analyst Sandile Swana said this was an agenda of “Make America Great Again", the political slogan and movement associated with Trump, to abolish diversity, inclusivity, and equality, or the abolition of affirmative action in every country that the US has influence.
“He is pursuing an agenda of wanting to change the laws of South Africa,” he said.
Another political analyst, Ntsikelelo Breakfast, said this shows Musk’s lack of historical appreciation, adding that he cannot contribute towards building South Africa without this understanding.
"South Africa is a product of history. We have these contradictions regarding social relations in terms of who owns what. These legislations (BBBEE) are meant to bridge the gap,” he said.