Musk’s argument that Starlink cannot function in South Africa as he is not Black is rejected

Multibillionaire Elon Musk claimed on Friday that his Starlink satellite company could not operate in South Africa because he is not Black, but the country’s telecoms regulator denied this allegation, stating that Starlink had not filed for a license.

“Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not Black,” Musk said on X, the company he controls, in his most recent criticism of the nation where he was born and attended school.

On the social media site, senior foreign affairs officer Clayson Monyela gave a forceful response.

“You know it’s not true, sir! Your skin tone has no bearing on this. As long as local rules are followed, Starlink is free to operate in South Africa,” Monyela added. “This is a global international trade & investment principle.”

Musk seemed to be making fun of local Black Economic Empowerment regulations that require foreign-owned telecom licensees to provide historically underrepresented groups 30% of the stock in their local subsidiaries.

According to TechCentral, a South African technology news website, SpaceX, the parent company of Starlink, wrote to ICASA, the telecommunications regulator, requesting that it reconsider the 30% ownership requirement for licensees.

Without providing further details, an ICASA representative stated: “ICASA has not received any application from Starlink or SpaceX.”

A request for comment from Communications Minister Solly Malatsi was not answered.

According to TechCentral, Malatsi has requested that ICASA take into account “equity equivalents” such as skill development in order to permit local operations by businesses like SpaceX.

Although Starlink has operations in numerous African nations, licensing disagreements have caused it to encounter difficulties in countries such as Namibia and Cameroon.

Before moving to the United States, where he is currently the richest person in the world and a top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, Musk went to school in the South African metropolis of Pretoria.

Trump has blocked U.S. funding to South Africa within weeks of taking office due to the country’s land reform policy and its World Court genocide case against Washington’s partner Israel.