South Africa accuses the world’s richest man of spreading lies about the country

On Sunday, Elon Musk reiterated that his satellite internet firm, Starlink, has been unable to secure approval to operate in South Africa because of racism.

He pointed out that his business is unable to operate in the country where he was born because of his refusal to pay bribes.

“Shame on the racist politicians in South Africa. They should be shown no respect whatsoever anywhere in the world and shunned for being unashamedly RACISTS!” Musk stated.

Following up on this, Elon decided to mention the alleged genocide against white farmers that was said to have been happening in South Africa.

These comments yet again reignited the debate on some sensitive topics in the Southern African country, including apartheid and the genocide in question.

While some agreed with his sentiments, others argued that the Tesla CEO’s tirade stems from frustration with being unable to get his way for his Starlink business in South Africa.

Vincent Magwenya seemed to agree as he noted that “in the absence of respect for South Africa’s transformation laws,” Elon Musk is peddling lies.

“There are currently 193 member states in the United Nations. Surely, there’s good money to be made out of 192 markets. It’s okay to move on,” Magwenya emphasized.

Musk’s criticism of South Africa is focused on Pretoria’s Black Economic Empowerment policies, which he argues are discriminatory and have stopped his company, Starlink, from operating in the country.

The South African-born billionaire argued that Starlink has been unable to secure an internet service provider licence in South Africa solely because he is not Black.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), which governs the country’s telecom business, requires licensees to follow the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) laws.

Among these is the necessity for traditionally underrepresented groups, such as women, youth, people with disabilities, and Black South Africans, to own 30% of the company.

Starlink has declared that, while it supports empowerment aspirations, it opposes requiring multinational firms with established global shareholding structures to own equity.

The satellite-internet provider, operated by SpaceX, has expanded rapidly across Africa, offering satellite-based internet in countries with limited broadband infrastructure.

However, South Africa remains one of the continent’s largest economies, where the service has yet to receive full regulatory approval.