Elon Musk furious at South Africa's B-BBEE policies as Starlink licence stalls

THE world's richest man and business magnate, Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, continues to target and criticise the country's transformative policies, particularly the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), which he has labelled as "extremely racist".

- MANYANE MANYANE

This is after he alleged that his satellite internet service, Starlink, was denied a licence to operate in South Africa because he is not Black, even though he was born in the country.

He described the regulations as “extremely racist” and a “shameful disgrace” to Nelson Mandela’s legacy, calling for sanctions to be imposed on politicians who are protecting the BBBEE laws.

For years, Starlink was unable to obtain an operating licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) due to the Electronic Communications Act, which is part of the BBBEE laws requiring 30% equity ownership by historically disadvantaged individuals.

Although Musk has previously discussed entering the market, ICASA confirmed in March 2025 that Starlink had not officially applied for the necessary licences, despite complaining about the regulations.

Musk alleged that his company was repeatedly offered opportunities to “bribe” its way to a licence by misrepresenting its ownership to bypass race-based requirements, which he refused on principle.