Elon Musk is having a hard time explaining his cushy new Starlink contracts.
While speaking with Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum Tuesday, the world’s richest man aggressively dodged a direct question about his space-based internet network’s reported deal with South Africa, which would circumvent the country’s post-apartheid laws.
After refusing to engage with the idea that there had been a conflict of interest between his work for the Trump administration and operating his multibillion-dollar international businesses, Musk pushed back against the question that foreign governments could be using deals with his companies in order to cozy up to the White House.
“Starlink is obviously a very good internet service,” said Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain. “It also had more contracts coming its way, and there is some evidence that companies are allowing access to it because they want to be close to the Trump administration and send the right signals.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is planning to offer Musk a Starlink contract ahead of Ramphosa’s meeting with Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, despite the fact that Musk’s business doesn’t fit the parameters of South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment laws.
“That is being done on the event of the visit President Ramaphosa is expected to make to the White House. Do you recognize that as a conflict of interest?” Husain asked.
“No, of course not,” Musk responded. “First of all, you should be questioning why are there racist laws in South Africa. That’s the first problem; that’s what you should be attacking. It’s improper for there to be racist laws in South Africa.”
“The whole idea with what Nelson Mandela, great man, proposed, is that all races should be on equal footing in South Africa,” Musk continued. “Whereas there are now 140 laws in South Africa that basically give strong preference to if you’re a Black South African, and not otherwise.”
Musk then repeatedly pressed Husain on whether she believed that was “right,” while the moderator elaborated that the law was about to change to benefit Musk.
“Those rules were designed to bring about an era of more economic equality in South Africa, and it looks like the government has found a way to work around those rules for you,” Husain said.
“I asked you a question,” Musk said, eliciting an awkward laugh from the crowd. “Why do you like racist laws?”
“This is not for me to answer,” Husain said. “Now, you wouldn’t be trying to dodge a question that’s difficult for you to answer?”
The South African government’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment policy stipulates that all companies that do business in the nation must have at least 30 percent of their ownership or economic involvement owned by Black South Africans. Musk claimed Tuesday that he’s been rejected for a business license in his home country because he’s “not Black,” though Starlink has failed to meet the requirements for the license.
The mandate is a part of the country’s efforts to correct inequalities left in the wake of apartheid, striving to “advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of black people in the South African economy,” per the South African Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Musk has practically made the notion of diversity his enemy through his work at the Department of Government Efficiency, where he pitched to strip and defund federal agencies whose missions make mention of inclusivity efforts.
And on his social media platforms, the billionaire’s X-based artificial intelligence bot Grok has practically confessed that its algorithm was changed in order to accommodate Musk’s “white genocide” conspiracy regarding South Africa.