WATCH: Elon Musk’s father says Ramaphosa sought billionaire’s support for ANC

President Cyril Ramphosa asked Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, to reach out to the billionaire to get more involved in South Africa and to give the “ANC a thumbs up” before the 29 May 2024 elections.

Musk senior was speaking to author and broadcaster Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh on Sunday on the SMWX podcast in a wide-ranging interview about Ramaphosa’s letter, white genocide, the government of national unity and his son buying X (formally Twitter), among other things.

Ramaphosa’s letter

Ramaphosa met with Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September last year, to discuss investment opportunities in South Africa.

Musk senior said Ramaphosa wrote him a letter asking him to reach out to Elon, seeking an endorsement for the ANC before the elections, which saw the then-governing party plummet below 50% for the first time since the dawn of democracy.

“He wanted me to convince Elon to become involved in the country and give the ANC a bit of a thumbs up as the elections were coming in May. I looked at the letter and thought that Elon is not going to endorse the ANC.

“I told Ramaphosa’s people that I don’t think Elon will respond to this and they said ‘leave it then, don’t send the letter’. I did send the letter to Elon out of interest,” Musk senior said.

WATCH Errol Musk on Ramaphosa’s letter

🚨 OUT NOW: Errol Musk on @ElonMusk’s letter from Cyril Ramaphosa, rejecting the ‘White genocide’ myth, why he still lives in SA, the ‘GNU’, US-SA relations and more. Ayeye! 🔥pic.twitter.com/mfMLsltynU

— Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh (@SizweMpofuWalsh) April 13, 2025

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Starlink

Earlier this year, Musk, the owner of Space X and Tesla, shared a post on his X platform about not being able to operate in this country because of his skin colour in reaction to a conversation between South African billionaire Robert Hersov and social media show host Mario Nawfal.

In the interview with Nawfal, Hersov spoke of the 140 race-based laws in South Africa, and the Expropriation Act signed by Ramaphosa last year.

“There’s been endless laws, anti-white, boiling us like a frog in a bowl.  And all I can say is thank you, America, and thank you, Donald Trump, for taking notice because we are on the edge of the socialist abyss.”

The South African-born Musk reacted to Hersov’s sentiments.

“Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa because I’m not black,” he said.

Clayson Monyela, of the department of international relations and cooperation, dismissed the claims.

‘Capable people left SA’

Musk said that the most capable people left South Africa in droves after the fall of apartheid.

“No one could see the future of South Africa. They couldn’t see how things were going to function. In many ways, they were right, but they were also wrong.”

‘SA is important’

While Elon said being bullied in South Africa helped motivate him to achieve success in the US, Musk senior said: “South Africa is very important to him.”

“To me, South Africa is more important than America. But at the same time, I think America is well on its way to good things happening, and Elon is the right person for that.

“But, in South Africa, we need to really start looking at what is really going on in this government and move more towards the situation we might have here in the Western Cape.

“We have a balanced budget, roads that are good, and sidewalks with flowers along the side. Why is it not like that throughout South Africa?” Musk senior asked.

GNU

Musk also commented on the government of national unity.

“Ramaphosa passes… but people were looking for more, and they are aware of corruption.”

Musk senior said Elon, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency in the US, is involved in rooting out corruption in the US government. He added that Elon bought X after seeing thousands of posts criticising him.

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘South Africa is a very violent place’ – Elon Musk