Is SA government about to green-light Starlink? Elon Musk responds

After disappearing from the spotlight, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk is back and 'pushing' for Starlink to operate in SA.

May 21, 2025 - 06:00
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Is SA government about to green-light Starlink? Elon Musk responds

South African-born billionaire Elon Musk claims that his company, Starlink, is being denied a licence in South Africa due to the colour of his skin.

This statement comes after reports indicated that the South African government was considering a workaround involving Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) to permit Starlink’s internet service to operate in the country.

In an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Musk did not confirm whether a deal had been made with South Africa, as suggested in the reports. However, he maintains that Starlink’s failure to secure a license is attributed to his not being black.

Musk wants Starlink to operate in his country of birth

“First of all, you should be questioning why there are racist laws in South Africa; that’s the problem. That’s the issue you should be attacking. The whole idea with Nelson Mandela, he was a great man, was that all races should be on equal footing in South Africa, that’s the right thing to do, not to replace one set of racist laws with another set of racist laws.”

“I was born in South Africa but can’t get a licence to operate in Starlink because I’m not black,” Musk said.

According to various sites, for Starlink to operate in South Africa, it needs to obtain network and service licences, which both require 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups, primarily Black South Africans.

On the eve of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s talks with US President Donald Trump, reports emerged that there may have been a last-minute meeting between the SA officials and Musk to find a way of bringing Starlink to the country.

On Tuesday, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) opposed the reported deal, calling it unconstitutional.

Did SA offer Musk Starlink deal?

“We are not opposed to technology or global innovation, but we will not allow unregulated, foreign-controlled infrastructure to operate outside our democratic and legislative systems. Starlink represents a threat to local industry and national security, especially as it’s owned by someone who has peddled lies about genocide in South Africa to gain preferential market access.”

“One wonders why Elon Musk is so desperate to do business in a country supposedly involved in genocide. Any true humanitarian would see genocide as a reason not to invest,” EFF said in a statement.

Do you think Starlink is coming to South Africa?

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