3 Times Elon Musk Slammed the South African Government and 3 Clapbacks
- Tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk has used his platform to launch various online campaigns against South Africa
- Musk has accused the government of various allegations about policy and crime
- Briefly News takes a look at the number of times Musk made allegations about Mzansi that were disproved
Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.
Source: Getty Images
SOUTH AFRICA— Elon Musk, the world's richest man, is no stranger to tweeting about South Africa. The tech billionaire's beef with South Africa has seen him make accusations that were disproved and either outright falsehoods or disinformation. Briefly News examines the occasions when his tweets were not as truthful as he portrayed them.
One of the allegations Musk has consistently made against South Africa is that South Africa has race-based laws. The argument emerged from the Institution of Race Relations, which alleged that 144 South African laws are skewed towards black people and not white people. Musk has challenged the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment policies and has refused to relent.
Are there 144 race-based laws?
News24's Fact Check Desk clarified that the framing that there are over 140 race laws was misleading and at times misinformed. None of the laws mentioned fit the legal or international definition of racism. Instead, the majority of the laws are measures designed to correct historical disadvantage, promote inclusion, and broaden access. These laws include the Employment Equity Act, the National Qualifications Framework Act, the Housing Act, and the National Arts Council Act. President Cyril Ramaphosa has also denied that the country's laws are racist.
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Starlink license denied because of race
Musk has also repeatedly accused the government, in relation to the first claim, of not allowing Starlink to operate because of racial reasons. Musk has alleged that Starlink's application for a license has been denied because he is white. He has also said that he would not comply with the BBBEE requirement of giving 30% of the company to historically disadvantaged people.
What did the government say in response?
The government has denied blocking Starlink's application because of Musk's race. The Presidency said that he was welcome to operate Starlink if he followed the local laws. President Cyril Ramaphosa said, according to BusinessTech, that Musk could use equity equivalence programmes to meet South Africa's racial equity rules.
Elon Musk talks about farm murder
Musk has also criticized the government on what he believed was a farm murder epidemic. His sentiments echoed those of US President Donald Trump, who accused the government of killing Afrikaners in a genocide. Musk shared a tweet that shared a video of a temporary memorial of white crosses placed in KwaZulu-Natal in 2020. The original post alleged that each cross represented a murdered white farmer. Musk corrected the post and said each cross was a murdered family.
DIRCO senior official schools Musk
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation's Head of Public Diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, readily corrected him and called him out. He said that the crosses were a symbolic protest following the murder of a farming couple, but they do not represent one cross for every murdered farmer or farmer's family.
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Source: Briefly News
