On the same day that Trump, in a Truth Social post, claimed that South Africa was treating “certain classes of people” very badly, Musk took to X, the platform he purchased in 2022, to accuse South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of enacting “openly racist laws” — only the latest statement by the Tesla billionaire and right-wing political icon suggesting that South Africa was transforming into a racialized tyranny.
Such allegations do not represent the reality of what is taking place in South Africa, where the white minority remains a highly privileged class, and the charges have been rejected even by white-led political parties. South Africa’s primary opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, which is seen by many as the party of white capital, quickly released a statement accusing Trump of misreading the facts about land reform.
Landownership remains one of South Africa’s most contentious issues. In 1975, the apartheid government passed a sweeping land expropriation law that stripped the majority-Black South African population of property rights, leaving most land in white hands. After apartheid, democratic governments led by the African National Congress inherited these powers but have used them far less aggressively. The lingering fear is that South Africa will follow Zimbabwe’s path and seize white-owned farmland without compensation — yet nothing remotely similar has occurred. Despite a legal change enacted in January 2025 to allow land expropriation without compensation only in limited cases, such as absentee ownership or public health risks, white landowners have not been widely targeted by the South African government.
Following public threats by the Trump administration and repeated comments by Musk about South Africa on social media, Ramaphosa called Musk on Feb. 6, engaging in a conversation that a government spokesperson later tersely described as “logical.” There is no sign that the conflict between the new administration and South Africa is about to abate, and the advisers surrounding Trump are likely to continue playing a role in maintaining it.