‪‘Go To Hell’ Julius Malema Fires Back At Elon Musk After Calling Him A ‘International Criminal’‬

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a South African Marxist–Leninist and pan-Africanist political party, has fiercely rejected comments made by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who called for the party’s leader, Julius Malema, to be declared an international criminal.

The American businessman and Tesla CEO, on Sunday, called for immediate sanctions against the 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 would 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.

However, in a statement, the EFF dismissed Musk’s remarks as part of a broader imperialist agenda and accused him of meddling in South Africa’s domestic affairs.

The EFF claims that his influence over the United States government has emboldened him to attack political leaders who oppose Western imperialism.

The party maintains that Malema, known for his radical stance on land expropriation without compensation and African economic emancipation, has been unfairly labelled by Musk and other right-wing forces.

EFF accused Musk of acting as a global “billionaire maniac” who seeks to manipulate governments for his own business interests. The party further stated that Musk’s alleged interference is an attempt to undermine South Africa’s sovereignty and weaken its relations with the United States.

A screenshot of the fierce exchange between Musk and Malema on X.

As a countermeasure, the EFF has vowed that Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, will not operate in South Africa unless it complies with local regulations, including a 30% local ownership requirement. The party also called for Musk’s enterprises to be rejected by progressive nations such as Russia, China, and India.

The statement partly reads, “The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is not fazed by the declaration made by owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), Space X, Starlink, Tesla and recently the so-called director for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States of America, who has made a declaration that the President of the EFF Julius Malema must be declared an international criminal.

“As part of the general hysteria that has overtaken governance in the United States of America (USA), Musk has assumed the role of a global billionaire maniac, whose grotesque wealth has overwhelmed him and made him think of himself as a supreme ruler of not only the Oval Office, but of all nations of the world.

“The Commander in Chief and President of the EFF has been at the forefront of struggles for the African continent and the diaspora since his activism as a young person in the former liberation movement of South Africa. Central to his perspective not only on Economic Freedom and the emancipation of African people, has been a staunch opposition to Western imperialism and all of its manifestations.

“It is therefore not surprising that Julius Malema would be declared an enemy by the global capitalist establishment, an agenda advanced by the likes of deranged individuals such as Elon Musk. However, the misconception and mischaracterization of the President of the EFF as genocidal is a sideshow that seeks to undermine the ideas which he represents.

“The EFF and all people who have been at the yolk of oppression perpetuated by the USA and its allies are bound to naturally be the quintessential enemies of billionaires who capture states and manipulate narratives, and misuse their control of governments to cast aspersions against their natural enemies.

“The EFF takes this opportunity to tell Elon Musk and all of his allies, in the USA, in Israel and the right wing groups in South Africa which have mobilized Musk, to collectively go to hell.

“The principle remains that equality in South Africa is rooted in the return of the land to African people, and this will be achieved through expropriation without compensation. Additionally, the EFF makes a firm commitment that Elon Musk’s Starlink will never operate in South Africa, without complying to local legislation which demands that there must be 30% local ownership.

“The offense that Musk has made against the leader of the EFF constitutes a meddling in our domestic affairs which we do not take lightly, and he must be viewed as an imperialist who seeks to undermine the economic and political sovereignty of South Africa through sanctions, and is part of mischievous attempts to severe relations between South Africa and the United States of America.

“The EFF declare Elon Musk as an enemy of South Africa, and a capturer of governance in the USA who will lead to that nations downfall. All progressive nations, including Russia, China, India, and all African states ought to isolate and reject all enterprises pursued by Elon Musk in their nations.

“Elon Musk has captured the Presidency of the USA and has weaponized his office as an instrument to pursue his business interests globally. His nefarious influence must be opposed and undermined by all nations which respect their sovereignty and seek to maintain independence.”

“The EFF will not be cowed into submission, retreat nor capitulation from its principled and unwavering commitment to confront imperialism and its surrogates like Elon Musk anywhere and everywhere it rises its ugly head,” the statement added.