Musk, who was born and raised in South Africa, has frequently accused its government of enacting “racist ownership laws” and failing to prevent what he has described as a “genocide” against white farmers. Last week, he directly challenged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on X, asking, “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”

Trump and his allies have targeted South Africa, promoting the false narrative that white people are being mistreated by the nation’s post-apartheid government.

When they were hit this week by a Donald Trump social media grenade, panicked South African officials turned to an unconventional diplomatic back channel.