The South African government will provide Elon Musk with a workaround for his Starlink Internet Services to work domestically, aiming to ease tensions between both the billionaire and US President Donald Trump.
According to three people familiar with the discussion, the offer is planned for a last-minute meeting between Musk or his representative on Tuesday night and a delegation of South African officials traveling with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Before Ramaphosa visited the White House Wednesday, the intention is to ease the onslaught of criticism by Musk and Trump, which spread the conspiracy theories that there was a massacre against white people in Africa's most industrialized country, people who have not been identified as unauthorized to discuss the issue.
People said an alternative to the so-called Black Economic Empowerment Act, where 30% of Black ownership is not inherent to Starlink and Musk, and in some cases 30% of Black ownership is required.
People said it applies to all information and communications technology companies, including those in China and the Middle East.
Options that are so-called equity equivalents include providing farmers with StarLink kits to rural areas to help them invest in infrastructure and training or improve internet access.
In 2019, the automotive industry has registered for similar workarounds, including the biggest automakers such as BMW AG, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.
The honeybee rules were introduced after the end of apartheid, during which blacks were conquered and excluded from the formal economy by the dominant white minority.
Today, white people earn five times what blacks earn, according to official statistics, and even though they make up 7% of the population, they own the majority of their farmland.
The new rules for ICT companies were not “part of a broader strategy to enable an environment for international investment rather than providing access to a single company and expand digital connectivity across South Africa,” he said in response to a request for comment.
Starlink talks about food stalls
Talks over the launch of Starlink in South Africa fell deadlock earlier this year after Musk and Trump increased public rhetoric over policies such as the Bee Act.
Musk, born in Pretoria, accused him of not being permitted to operate satellite services in South Africa “because I am not black,” and accused the government of having “open and racist possession laws.”
Trump also criticized the law that grants white South African minorities the status of refugees and gives the government the authority to take land for public purposes.
Although this law is similar to the prominent US domain laws, South Africa law allows for uncompensated expropriation in certain cases such as abandoned land or unused state property. As of now, no land has been seized.
Two times last week, Trump repeated the false claims that white people are subject to South African genocide. A South African court in February found there was no evidence to support the claim that it called the idea “clearly imagined and not real.”
While talks with South African Musk via Starlink do not necessarily form part of the proposed large-scale trade agreement with the US, carrying musk could support more active engagement between the two countries, people familiar with the debate said.
Relying on the constellations of low-Earth orbital satellites, Starlink's technology is a potential game changer for South African users who have historically faced expensive or unreliable internet options. A 2023 survey compiled by the South African Bureau of Statistics found that only 1.7% of rural households have access to the internet.
“Disclaimer – the views and opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bee Room.”
