Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, really wants to get Starlink, his company’s broadband satellite internet service, licensed in South Africa. The trouble is, Musk — in his guise as No 1 supporter of US President Donald Trump — also sees an opportunity to inject himself directly into the politics of the country of his birth.
Since his man was re-elected to the White House in November, the Pretoria-born Musk — the world’s richest person — has interfered directly in the politics of some of the US’s closest allies. Never has an unelected businessman had as much political sway as Musk — and he’s demonstrated that he’s not afraid to use it, even if it means fomenting instability to achieve his desired outcomes (whatever they may be).
In the UK, Musk has been notably critical of the Labour Party and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response to anti-immigration riots that ripped through that country last summer. “Prison for Starmer,” he wrote in one incendiary post on X, adding a poll asking his followers whether the US “should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government”. He forgets Labour was elected to power in a democratic process.
Musk’s vocal support for the Alternative for Germany has stirred considerable debate and criticism too. His twin Nazi salutes at Trump’s inauguration — if that’s what they were — naturally also raised hackles in Germany.
Indeed, across Europe, Musk is facing growing pushback — and even considerable anger — over his support for far-right populists. French President Emmanuel Macron described Musk’s support of what he called a “new international reactionary movement” and his attempts to “intervene directly in elections” across Europe as unimaginable.
Well, now it’s South Africa’s turn to get the Musk treatment.
Last week he accused President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of implementing “openly racist ownership laws”, a reference to legislation that has sought to codify and enforce broad-based BEE rules designed to rectify the wrongs of apartheid. This may have been a pitch to the US Right as much as it was an attempt to insert himself into South Africa’s political discourse.
Musk’s remarks poured fuel on a fire started by Trump the previous evening when he posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, that the US would stop sending aid to South Africa over its land expropriation policies. The US “won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation has been completed.”
These developments have left South Africa facing its most serious diplomatic crisis since the end of apartheid, one that will require deft management by Ramaphosa and international relations & co-operation minister Ronald Lamola
It’s not the first time Trump has taken an interest in South African politics. In 2018, during his first presidential term, he asked his then secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to “closely study South African land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large-scale killing of farmers”. That followed a visit to Washington by representatives of Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, who secured a prime-time interview with rabble-rousing then Fox News host Tucker Carlson on white South African farm murders.
The latest attention from Trump and Musk has energised those on South Africa’s Right, who took to X (where else?) to laud the US president’s decision to put pressure on the ANC to abandon BEE and to reconsider its alignment with China and other geopolitical enemies of the US. To many of them, Trump can do no wrong — he’s on a noble mission, they believe, to rid the world of “wokeness”, to reverse efforts to fight climate change, and to draw a line under diversity, equity and inclusion efforts favoured by the Left. They seem to be blind to the man’s many character flaws.
These developments have left South Africa facing its most serious diplomatic crisis since the end of apartheid, one that will require deft management by Ramaphosa and international relations & co-operation minister Ronald Lamola.
It also raises interesting questions about Starlink, which many South Africans assume hasn’t been licensed yet because of Musk’s hostility towards BEE. The fact is, though, that SpaceX has participated in Icasa’s efforts to amend the country’s satellite regulations, and it has argued not for an end to BEE but simply for “equity equivalents”.
Icasa requires prospective licensees such as SpaceX to have 30% of their South African equity in the hands of “historically disadvantaged” groups. Communications minister Solly Malatsi of the DA wants those rules changed to allow for equity equivalents.
It’s a reasonable request by SpaceX, and a review of the regulations makes sense — especially if they’re holding back investment. Behind the scenes, reviewing the regulations is already well under way and could result in an outcome that favours Musk. So, why risk it with an incendiary post to your 217-million followers? Does politics now matter more than business to Musk? And if so, what’s his endgame?
* McLeod is editor of TechCentral
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