In his latest rebuke of the country where he was born and went to school, Musk wrote on X, which he also owns: "Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I'm not black".

Clayson Monyela, a senior official at the foreign affairs department, responded emphatically on the social media platform.

"Sir, that's NOT true & you know it! It's got nothing to do with your skin colour. Starlink is welcome to operate in South Africa provided there's compliance with local laws," Monyela wrote. "This is a global international trade & investment principle."