Billionaire entrepreneur of South Africa Elon Musk claimed that his company Starlink, a satellite internet firm has been denied granting an operating licence in the country because he is not black. Strange Right!
In a statement stated by him Elon Musk has relinked controversy around race and regulation in South Africa. This assertion was made on Thursday, that stemmed from the remarks made by Musk at the Qatar Economic Forum in 2025. There he highlighted perceived inequities in the South African regulatory landscape.
Such proactive comments by Elon Musk followed the assertion from the South African telecom regulatory authority – Icasa, which stated that Starlink had not submitted an application for the required licence to operate within the country.
In a post shared earlier by Elon Musk on his X handle, he reiterated his concerns and stated that “Starlink is not allowed to have an Internet provider licence in South Africa for the sole reason that he is not Black. This is not ok.”
“There are 140 laws in South Africa that basically give strong preference to if you are a black South African and not otherwise. Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not black.”
一 Elon Musk
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) January 8, 2026
The tech titan’s remarks included references to the existence of laws that he claims preferentially benefit Black South Africans. ‘There are 140 laws in South Africa that basically give strong preference to if you are a black South African and not otherwise,’ Musk claimed during his previous interview.
This latest outburst from Elon Musk has resurfaced the discussions around the approach by the South African government to legislate telecommunications and promote equity post-apartheid.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2026
Notably, the Communications Minister – Solly Malatsi has recently urged Icasa to reconsider its regulatory framework in relation to the national ICT Sector Code which may permit foreign companies like Starlink to operate without stringent equity ownership requirements.
Adding up to this, a narrative was unfolded where the South African billionaire Elon Musk claimed that South Africa now has more anti-White laws than there were anti-Black laws under Apartheid!