Starlink not allowed in South Africa because I am not black: Elon Musk renews discrimination claims | Today News

Starlink chief Elon Musk reiterated his claim on Thursday that Starlink is not being allowed to be an Internet provider in South Africa because "I am not Black".

Musk said, “Starlink is not allowed to have an Internet provider license in South Africa for the sole reason that I am not Black,” adding, “This is not ok.”

Musk made the comment as he shared an excerpt of his interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in 2025, where he made similar claims. In the interview, he said, "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."

This was not the only message posted from Musk's X account regarding South Africa on Thursday. In another instance, the Tesla boss said that "South Africa now has more anti-White laws than there were anti-Black laws under Apartheid!"

"I am extremely opposed to anti-Black laws, but equally opposed to the laws against White people or other races too. There should be a fair and even playing field," he added.

Musk himself was born in apartheid South Africa, in Pretoria.

Despite Musk's claims of discrimination in South Africa, a BBC report from April 2025 reveals that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) told the publication that Starlink did not submit an application for a licence.

The country's foreign ministry told the publication that the company can operate in the country "provided there's compliance with local laws".

As per South African laws, Starlink will have to get service and network licences in order to operate in the country, but a company can only do so if 30% of it is owned by a community deemed historically disadvantaged, which refers to the black population of the country.

Starlink had also written to Icasa regarding the law saying that this excludes "many" foreign operators from the South African market.

However, Clayson Monyela, a spokesperson of the SA foreign ministry, had then claimed that around 600 US companies, including Microsoft, were carrying out their operations in the country and "thriving".