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Mzansi Claps Back as US Petition Tries to Send Elon Musk ‘Home’ to South Africa
A petition first launched earlier this year to strip Elon Musk of his US citizenship and send him back to South Africa has returned to the spotlight. The revived call has sparked chatter across social media and South African news feeds, with reactions ranging from amused eye-rolls to firm statements of national identity.
The Petition and Why It’s Back
In March of this year, American citizen John Visci started a petition demanding that Elon Musk be “deported” from the United States and returned to South Africa. The reasoning given was concern over Musk’s influence in American political life owing to his wealth and corporate power. As of this week, the petition has picked up just over 6,500 signatures.
The petition argues that while Musk’s achievements in business and technology are considerable, his political sway makes his naturalised US citizenship problematic. The call is for that citizenship to be revoked and for him to go back “home” to the country where he was born. According to public records, Musk was born in Pretoria and became a naturalised US citizen in 2002.
With the petition back in the news, the conversation among South Africans has revived, too, and it has mostly been dismissive.
“There’s No Return Policy”: South Africa Pushes Back
For many here, the petition seems odd, unhelpful, or even far-fetched. On social media and in comment threads, a common refrain has been that South Africa doesn’t operate any “return policy” for former residents or citizens living abroad. As such, people have quipped that whether Americans want Musk back or not is entirely irrelevant.
Others have been more blunt: some say they do not want Musk back in South Africa. The reasons vary, ranging from disinterest all the way to concerns about what it would mean to have such a prominent global figure relocating here.
The sentiment seems to land somewhere between bemusement and outright rejection.
Why It Matters, For South Africa and Beyond
This renewed petition may seem more symbolic than practical. South Africa does not have a mechanism that would automatically “re-admit” someone because another country demanded their return. Citizenship and immigration laws do not work in that manner.
But the reaction, especially in South Africa, reveals how many locals view identity, belonging, and national pride. For some, the notion that a South African-born billionaire could be “sent back” as though he were a misplaced parcel strikes as absurd. For others, seeing Musk’s name in the headlines again stirs memories of his Pretoria beginnings and how far he has come.
Whether the petition gains traction or disappears quietly, the debate around it shines a light on bigger questions about citizenship, global mobility, and what it really means to “belong” somewhere in a world where passports and residence blur the lines of nationality.
Also read: ANC Firmly Rejects Claims of a Secret Plot to Recall President Ramaphosa
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: TheBoss Newspaper
