Musk eyes Western Cape rocket launch site
Three weeks ago, behind closed doors at the White House, Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump found common ground in a much friendlier, extended lunch meeting, which followed an earlier public spat in the Oval Office.
While that initial encounter set the stage, a flurry of developments since – including a public and very messy fallout between Trump and Musk – has cast new light on the potential implications for SA’s critical minerals, space ambitions, and ongoing trade negotiations.
‘You guys are the largest economy on the continent… and you have minerals we need,’ Trump said, according to DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who was in the room.
The Daily Maverick reports that both Musk and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were interested in SA’s critical minerals because of the shortage of rare earths used, especially in magnets.
Musk also said he was interested in launching SpaceX rockets from the Denel Overberg rocket test site at Arniston, outside Cape Town.
Two space experts said the value of the Arniston launch site to Musk is to launch satellites that will orbit over the South Pole, as well as Starlink low-Earth orbit satellites to provide broadband to consumers.
If there were discussions between Ramaphosa and Musk about Denel’s rocket test site at Arniston, it was without the knowledge of Denel.
According to a report in Die Burger, a spokesperson of Denel indicated that the parastatal has no knowledge of Musk’s alleged interest.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya was reportedly approached to clarify whether SpaceX’s rockets were discussed at all, but did not respond.
In the White House meeting, Musk did not mention Starlink, apparently because the SA Government has already set up a process to review its B-BBEE policy as it affects companies like Starlink.
DM notes that Communications Minister Solly Malatsi this week confirmed that the decision will depend on a review process by the Independent Communications Authority of SA, which he first raised in September 2024.
The review was announced last month, but no outcome of that process is expected soon.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
