Elon Musk alleges bribery plot in SA Starlink licence battle

SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk has alleged that his internet-satellite service, Starlink, was given the opportunity to “bribe” its way to a telecoms licence in the country, by pretending that a black person ran the company’s local entity.

Talks on launching Starlink in South Africa stalled last year after Musk and US President Donald Trump ramped up public rhetoric against policies such as BEE laws, which mandate that foreign-owned telecoms companies allocate at least 30% of local equity to historically disadvantaged groups.

Musk, who is South African-born, previously claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not black, an allegation South African officials dismissed.

Bribe to bring Starlink to SA

In a post on his social media platform X over the weekend, Musk once again pushed the same rhetoric that the main reason Starlink could not launch in his home country was that he was not black.

“South Africa won’t allow Starlink to be licensed, even though I was born there, simply because I am not Black!

“We were offered many times the opportunity to bribe our way to a license by pretending that a Black guy runs Starlink SA, but I have refused to do so on principle,” Musk posted.

‘Racist politicians’

Musk said racism “should not be rewarded, no matter to which race it is applied.”

“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!

“Racist laws in South Africa are evil, and the politicians that push these are shameful, disgusting people,” Musk said in another post.

Government response

Head of Diplomacy Clayson Monyela told The Citizen that Musk is lying about the bribery claims.

“There are situations where you go to report a crime or an attempted crime, but there’s certainly no request from the South African government for any bribe, and it’s asking every company that wants to do business in South Africa to comply with the law,” said Monyela.

“It’s pure lies, a fabrication. All the companies are complying, and he wants to be treated specially. Why? And yet, America is doing the same thing. Look at what they did to TikTok,” Monyela said.

In September 2025, the United States announced a “framework” deal with China to resolve their dispute over TikTok, which called for the Chinese-owned app to be transferred to US control and severed from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

‘A**hole’

While Musk was on his “I am not black” rant about Starlink not being allowed in South Africa, Monyela poked fun at the world’s richest man in a post on X about hundreds of US companies investing in the country of his birth.

“Elon Musk, watching the more than 600 USA companies in South Africa, complying with South African laws and thriving. Zero drama.”

Musk then attacked Monyela with a rebuttal expletive post.

“Stop being such a fu*&%$# racist, you a**hole,” Musk posted.

Musk ‘blatant liar’

However, another X user, Michael de Villiers, came to South Africa’s defence, calling Musk a “blatant liar.”

“You’re a blatant liar. That’s exactly why this platform has become so distasteful. You acquired it on the promise of tackling misinformation, yet you’ve become one of its biggest sources.

“There are over 500 American companies operating in South Africa, many of them led by white executives. This isn’t about facts, it’s about smearing South Africa for your own benefit,” said de Villiers.

Alternative to BEE

In May last year, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi published a policy direction to provide alternatives, paving the way for the Starlink satellite internet service in the country.

Malatsi issued the directive two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa met his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington to “reset” strained relations following false claims of “white genocide” and attacks against Afrikaner farmers in South Africa, a statement also made by Musk, who attended the meeting in the White House’s Oval Office.

Starlink

Despite this, Starlink remains unavailable in South Africa, even though some neighbouring countries use its service.

In March 2026, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) declined Starlink’s application to operate in Namibia.

Cran spokesperson Mufaro Nesongano confirmed the decision following the publication of the Government Gazette of 23 March.

“The authority resolved to decline the award of a class comprehensive telecommunications service licence for Starlink Internet Services Namibia (Pty) Limited,” the gazette reads.

Starlink operates thousands of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet globally.