Elon Musk, in a tweet made on Sunday, said Malema committed a serious crime and should be punished accordingly.
American businessman and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has called for immediate sanctions against South African politician and lawmaker Julius Malema over a controversial speech he made in 2018 targeting white people.
According to the White House, Musk is officially serving under President Donald Trump as a special government employee.
In November 2024, as President-elect at the time, Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE).
In a viral video from 2018, Malema declared that his party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), sought to remove Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip solely because of his race.
The politician said: "We have taken a decision that we are going to remove the mayor of PE [Port Elizabeth]," he made the statement while addressing a crowd at the Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg during the launch of the party’s election registration campaign.
"Why? Why not [mayor of DA-led Johannesburg Herman] Mashaba, why not Solly [Msimanga – mayor of DA-led Tshwane]? Because the mayor of DA in PE is a white man. So, these people, when you want to hit them hard – go after a white man. They feel a terrible pain, because you have touched a white man."
He clarified that this did not mean the EFF would refrain from targeting Mashaba and Msimanga, adding that they will eventually be “touched”.
“But we are starting with this whiteness. We are cutting the throat of whiteness. Trollip will not be a mayor after the 6th of April, if they give us that date," he said.
Reacting to these remarks about seven years later, Elon Musk, in a tweet made on Sunday said Malema committed a serious crime and should be punished accordingly.
“Immediate sanctions for Malema and declaration of him as an international criminal!” the Tesla CEO wrote.
The call for international sanctions against Malema comes amid a recent diplomatic misunderstanding between the South African government and the United States.
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa, after threatening to do so earlier this week.
He earlier announced plans to cut off all future funding to South Africa, citing concerns over "land expropriation and alleged discriminatory treatment" of some residents, particularly foreigners in the country.
Trump's announcement was shared on his Truth Social account following South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's signing of an expropriation bill into law, which permits the government to seize land without compensation in certain cases.
In response, President Cyril Ramaphosa clarified that South Africa receives no funding from the US except for PEPFAR aid, which supports the country's HIV/AIDS programme.