On Friday, 7 March, South Africa rejected Elon Musk’s statement that his Starlink satellite company could not operate in the country because he is not Black. The country’s telecoms regulator shared that Starlink had not applied for a license, according to Reuters. The founder of Starlink, who was born and went to school in South Africa, wrote on X, “Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not black.” Senior official at the foreign affairs department Clayson Monyela responded, “Sir, that’s NOT true, and you know it!
Undocumented migrants were among the many workers employed to help build Telsa and SpaceX facilities just outside of Austin, TX, despite Elon Musk’s call for stricter immigration policies, a Bloomberg investigation has revealed. Bloomberg Businessweek interviewed labor advocates, contract managers, and ten undocumented workers employed by third-party contractors. To verify their ties to Tesla and SpaceX, Businessweek reviewed site photos and videos taken by employees and confirmed details through family and friends. Undocumented migrant labor at Tesla and SpaceX Undocumented workers have reportedly been a regular part of Tesla’s workforce
A key Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee has resigned from his role after he was connected to a deleted social media account supporting racism and eugenics, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Marko Elez, 25, had access to the Treasury Department’s central payments system. Elon Musk says he will rehire Marko Elez, after the software engineer gained the backing of Vice President Vance and President Trump. DOGE employee’s racist posts The 25-year-old engineer, Marko Elez, was a previous staff worker for two of Elon Musk’s companies. As
The plans for Elon Musk’s Starlink to expand into South Africa have stopped as the company pulled back from regulatory hearings conducted by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), according to Techpoint. On Wednesday evening, SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company owned by Elon Musk, told the telecom regulator that it would not engage in the oral hearings. This news came a few hours after SpaceX representatives failed to attend their upcoming presentation that morning. Why did ICASA launch these hearings? ICASA created these hearings to accumulate industry input on
Plans to launch Starlink in South Africa are facing delays due to Elon Musk’s attacks on the country’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws, The Financial Times reports. The policies, designed to mitigate racial inequalities formed under apartheid, require foreign investors in South Africa’s telecom sector to allocate 30% of a project’s equity to Black-owned businesses to qualify for a license. The policy is supported by the African National Congress Party (ANC), a political party in South Africa known for its opposition against apartheid. Elon Musk says the equality laws are
Techish is back with a fresh new season to kick off 2025! Michael and Abadesi dive into US politics—talking elections, inflations, and the role of ‘liberal elites’. They break down the debate about H-1B visas (no, Trump and Musk don’t actually care about immigrants), Zuckerberg’s MAGA pivot, and what censorship on social media actually means. They wrap things off by asking what owning an Android means for your dating life. Chapters Why Trump Won The Election (00:00) Trump and Musk Back H-1B Visas (08:05) Mark Zuckerberg Pivots to MAGA (15:30)
As discontent with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) continues to grow, rival platforms like Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and Spill are seeing a surge in users. Bluesky, a decentralized social platform founded by ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, is experiencing an unprecedented surge in sign-ups—roughly one million new users daily, according to the BBC. Among the latest prominent figures to exit X are actress Gabrielle Union and former CNN host Don Lemon, joining other celebrities and public figures migrating to Bluesky. Why Are People Leaving X? The high-profile exits reflect a broader
Brazil’s Supreme Court has lifted its ban on X—formerly known as Twitter—after its owner, Elon Musk, complied with key legal demands. The decision ends a lengthy standoff between Musk and Brazilian authorities. X Returns for Millions of Brazilian Users Brazil is one of X’s largest markets, with an estimated 22 million users. The platform had been suspended in Brazil since August 30 for not blocking accounts that spread false information and failing to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which is required by law for foreign companies. According to a
Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, has agreed to block access to X—formerly Twitter— in Brazil. This decision follows a legal order from Brazil’s top court, which resulted in Starlink’s assets being frozen when Musk initially resisted. Court Orders Lead to Frozen Assets Brazil’s Supreme Court, under Justice Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the shutdown of Elon Musk’s X in Brazil as part of his ongoing campaign to curb disinformation. According to Bloomberg, when X failed to comply with previous orders and pay associated fines, the court extended its crackdown to
On Friday, Brazil’s top court ordered the immediate suspension of X—formerly Twitter—in the country following a months-long feud with owner Elon Musk. Now, rival platforms are benefiting. Bluesky Sees Surge in Sign-Ups Bluesky, which fully opened to the public in February 2023, is seeing massive surge in users, reportedly gained one million new users in just three days. The decentralized social app started off as a project by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was Twitter’s CEO. It has since become an independent public benefit corporation, with Twitter founder
