Tech billionaire Elon Musk has long claimed that Starlink, the satellite internet provider owned by his aerospace company, SpaceX, is not allowed to operate in his birthplace of South Africa because, in his own words, he is “not black.” Specifically, they claimed that the country's corporate ownership laws effectively prevent them from launching a service there.
For example, Musk shared the claim in an X post march 2025 And January 2026and it was referred to during a Remote interview at Qatar Economic Forum In May 2025.
“There are now 140 laws in South Africa that give you a strong preference if you are a black South African, not otherwise,” he said during the interview. “Now I'm in a situation like this, where I was born in South Africa, but I can't get a license to work at Starlink because I'm not black.”
OtherIncluding former West Virginia state representative Derrick Evans claim extended online In April 2026.
(x user @cb_doge)
However, the government of South Africa Is Frequently Said that Starlink has not been banned in the country.
In April 2023, South Africa's Department of Communications and Digital Technologies refuted claims of a government block on Starlink, he said That the company had not submitted the necessary applications to provide its services. The country's Foreign Ministry also said in March 2025 that Starlink was “You are welcome to work in South Africa, provided you comply with local laws,” BBC And Reuters reported.
Snopes contacted the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, which regulates telecommunications and broadcasting in the country, to ask whether Starlink has submitted an application to operate in the country or whether the South African government has reached an agreement with Musk that would allow Starlink to operate in the country.
In April 2025, a representative told snopes via email that Starlink “Has not applied for a license with ICASA.” In other words, Musk's company had not completed the necessary paperwork to operate in the country. We asked if this was true until April 2026, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
During this time, starlink website The company claims “Unable to apply for the necessary licenses to operate due to current ownership regulations” but adds that this “may soon change.”
The matter lies in the legal nuances of South Africa-apartheid Era. After the state-sanctioned system of racial segregation ended in 1994, the government of then-President Nelson Mandela passed legislation aimed at strengthening the economic power of the country's black majority. such a law Many companies operating in South Africa, including telecommunications companies, are required to give at least a 30% stake in operations within the country to local black firms.
according to Reporting from Semaphore to February 2025The South African government was considering an exception to that rule for Musk's ventures, including Starlink. On 20th May 2025, bloomberg It was reported that the country's government made such a deal partly to reduce tensions between the country and Musk's close ally at the time, US President Donald Trump.
Solly Malatsi, Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Technology of South Africa, published an instruction on December 12, 2025, which will allow companies to meet the requirement through “equity equivalent investment programs.” That investment must either total 30% of the valuation of the applicant's South African operations or 4% of their total revenues from South African operations over a specified period.
starlink website said it planned to meet the need by investing 500 million South African rand (about $30 million).Add Free, high-speed internet in 5,000 rural schoolsgetting more benefits than 2.4 million learners every year.” We contacted SpaceX to ask whether it had launched any efforts to do this and whether it planned to submit the necessary paperwork to the South African government, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Both Musk and Trump have publicly floated the conspiracy theory that “white genocide” is taking place within South Africa, Snopes claims. Dismissed in 2018. trump administration Aid stopped from the country in February 2025 Because, it said, white South Africans faced discrimination.
For further reading, we debunked the claim Musk told people Tesla could not be used to avoid the US military draft.
Source:
Apartheid South Africa, definition, facts, beginning and end Britannica. 17 May 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid.
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment – Department for Business Industry and Competition. https://www.thedtic.gov.za/financial-and-non-financial-support/b-bbee/broad-based-black-economic-empowerment/. Accessed 22 May 2025.
The racially charged controversy surrounding Elon Musk's Starlink and operations in South Africa. 16 April 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3d8gd8mno.
Gedeon, Joseph. “US suspends aid to South Africa after Trump order.” The Guardian, 6 March 2025. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/aid-trump-south-africa.
Palma, Bethania. “Is a 'mass murder' of white farmers going on in South Africa?”. Snopes, August 24, 2018, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/white-farmers-south-africa/.
Prinsloo, Lonnie, and S'Thembile Cele. “South Africa to offer Musk Starlink deal before meeting with Trump.” Bloomberg, 20 May 2025, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-20/south-africa-to-offer-musk-starlink-deal-before-trump-meeting.
South Africa could circumvent black ownership rules for Musk. 10 February 2025, https://www.semafor.com/article/02/10/2025/south-africa-might-bend-black-ownership-rules-for-elon-musk.
“South Africa to Offer Musk Starlink Deal Ahead of Trump Meeting,” Bloomberg News reports. Reuters, 20 May 2025. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-offer-musk-starlink-deal-before-trump-meeting-bloomberg-news-2025-05-20/.