Cyril Ramaphosa responds to Elon Musk
April 16th 2026
President Cyril Ramaphosa says Elon Musk is being dishonest by claiming that South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws are racist.
“When it comes to the social media brouhaha from Elon Musk, I pay very little attention to that because I know our laws are not racist,” Ramaphosa said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 National Local Economic Development held at a conference centre near OR Tambo International Airport, the President said BEE laws are empowering.
“They are empowerment laws meant to empower people in our country who were discriminated against, such as black people, in particular Africans, Coloureds, and Indians,” he stated.
“Discrimination was also perpetrated against the women of our country. And may I say, white women were also affected.”
Ramaphosa was asked about Musk after the South African–born billionaire alleged that his satellite Internet company, Starlink, had been solicited for bribes.
“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 said on Twitter/X.
“South Africa won’t allow Starlink to be licensed, even though I was born there, simply because I am not black,” Musk said.
Musk said that racism should not be rewarded, regardless of which race it is applied to. “Shame on the racist politicians in South Africa,” he said.
“They should be shown no respect whatsoever anywhere in the world and shunned for being unashamedly racist!”
Musk’s remarks came shortly after he responded to another post by Department of International Relations and Cooperation public diplomacy head Clayson Monyela.
Monyela taunted Musk by comparing the SpaceX CEO to a toddler starring in a TikTok video taken at a Spur, looking unimpressed by their birthday ice cream and the restaurant staff’s singing.
“Elon Musk watching the more than 600 USA companies in South Africa, complying with South African laws and thriving. Zero drama!” Monyela said.
Musk said Monyela should “stop being such a f–– racist, you a–hole.”
Ramaphosa defends BEE and endorses EEIPs
Ramaphosa said that South Africa’s BEE laws seek to implement the Constitutional imperative to redress the imbalances of the past.
“To do so, the Constitution has empowered us to pass laws that are empowering, not racist. And it’s interesting for me that he does not talk about the racist laws of the past,” stated Ramaphosa.
“Because those laws of the past actually said black people may not do certain things. They may not live in this place or that place. They may not do certain jobs. And this was delineated by race.”
Ramaphosa also denied that BEE laws were race-based. “He will never find race-based laws in our legislation. There are laws that are empowering all our people.”
The President also highlighted that BEE makes provision for international companies that have difficulty complying with the equity ownership portion of the legislation.
“They are given an opportunity through the Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes, where they can do other things that are empowering,” he explained.
“It could be in enterprise development, it could be in education, it could be in community development and all that.”
Ramaphosa said over 600 U.S.-based companies were complying this way, including blue chip companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, as well as big names like General Electric.
“When they come to do business here, they comply with our laws just like all other U.S. companies comply with the laws of the various countries where they operate,” said Ramaphosa.
“So, singling out our BEE laws is, to me, quite dishonest. Because if you look at our laws, you’ll find that they’re empowering.”
Starlink can’t get a licence with EEIPs
Some people commenting on Ramaphosa’s remarks said that Musk was the one being racist, not South Africa’s race-based laws.
“The moment he sees only blacks on screen, he goes red. So that explanation went in one ear and out the other. That man is driven by hate for black South Africans, unfortunately,” one person said.
Another commenter pointed out that Ramaphosa’s full-throated endorsement for Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) failed to mention that Starlink couldn’t get a licence that way.
“Ramaphosa is being dishonest here, mentioning the other companies using EEIPs without saying that currently Starlink is prevented from doing this,” they said.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) currently requires any nationally operating telecommunications licensee to be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups.
Communications minister Solly Malatsi has directed the sector regulator to harmonise its licensing rules with other BEE legislation and codes to accommodate EEIPs.
Because Elon Musk has become a political lightning rod, several Parliamentarians have chosen to interpret this as Malatsi seeking to provide Starlink with a workaround to BEE laws.
This is despite Ramaphosa and Parks Tau, his Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, being in favour of EEIPs.
Back