While it wasn't clear exactly what Trump was referring to, he appeared to be referencing a new law in South Africa that gives the government powers in some instances to expropriate land from people.
Musk, a close Trump ally and head of Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, has highlighted that law in recent social media posts and cast it as a threat to South Africa's white minority.
Many South Africans viewed Trump's sudden pledge to punish America's biggest trade partner in Africa as surprising and at least partly influenced by billionaire Tesla owner Musk, who was born in the South African capital of Pretoria but left for Canada after he completed high school.
What is the law Trump appears to be referring to?
The Expropriation Act was signed into law by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month and allows the government to take land in specific instances where it is not being used, or where it would be in the public interest if it is redistributed.
It aims to address some of the wrongs of South Africa's racist apartheid era, when Black people had land taken away from them and were forced to live in areas designated for non-whites.
Ramaphosa responded to Trump's comments Monday by saying the U.S. president was wrong and no land had been confiscated, and said he looked forward to "engaging" with the Trump administration over the issue. The South African government said that the U.S. didn't understand the law.
What has Musk previously said about South Africa?
Musk accused Ramaphosa's government in 2023 of allowing a "genocide" to happen over the killings of some white farmers, which have happened for years.
While the killings have been condemned, experts have said there is no evidence of any genocide and they are part of South Africa's extremely high violent crime rates and mostly related to farm robberies. Crime affects all South Africans, and the country has an average of 70 homicides a day, with the vast majority of the victims Black.
Musk also waded into the issue Monday by replying to a post by Ramaphosa's official account on X with the question: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”
Again, it remains unclear exactly what Musk was referring to, but his comments seemed to allude to South Africa's affirmative action laws in business that are designed to advance opportunities for Blacks and other racial groups who were disadvantaged under apartheid. Musk's Starlink satellite internet service has been denied a license in South Africa because it doesn't meet affirmative action criteria.
What is the reality when it comes to race in South Africa?
More than 30 years after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule, white people in South Africa generally still have a much higher standard of living than Black people.
That's reflected in poverty statistics, with a 2021 study by the South African Human Rights Commission finding that 64% of Black people were living in poverty against 1% of white people. When it comes to land, white people make up about 7% of the population of 62 million and own around 70% of land, according to the most recent land audit, although that share has decreased since apartheid.
Still, the new land law has drawn criticism even from inside the country, with civic groups that represent the interests of whites and some South African political parties saying they will challenge it in court because it allows land to be taken without compensation in some cases.
While South Africa has deep socioeconomic problems and a damaging legacy from nearly a half-century of apartheid, it is regarded as a stable democracy and is not a country brimming with racial tensions as it is sometimes portrayed to be.
What might Trump do?
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that South Africa was “treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” again without elaborating, and he would stop all future funding while the U.S. investigated.
That threatens around $400 million a year in aid the U.S. gives to South Africa, most of it for the country's HIV/AIDS program through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. South Africa's U.S. funding through PEPFAR was already threatened by Trump's global aid freeze.
South Africa was also concerned that Trump might remove it from the AGOA trade agreement, which gives South Africa and other African nations tariff-free access to the U.S. market. Trump has already imposed tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico — although on Monday he said he is pausing his tariffs planned for Mexico by one month.
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