Elon Musk on Wednesday was branded an "illiterate" by the leader of a South African party who the world's richest man accused of pushing for "genocide" in his native country.
The war of words between Musk and Julius Malema, head of the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), comes amid a broader debate over a controversial anti-apartheid song.
Malema has been accused of inciting ethnic violence by leading chants of "kill the Boer, the farmer" at a weekend rally.
The Boer are the descendants of Dutch settlers.
"Why must I educate Elon Musk, he looks like an illiterate. The only thing that protects him is his white skin," Malema told a press conference in Johannesburg.
Singing "Kill the Boer" has long been a thorny issue in South Africa.
One of a number of struggle songs, political anthems that were an important part of the fight to end white-rule, it is considered inflammatory by some due to its violent lyrics.
"They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa," Musk wrote Monday on X, the social media platform he owns previously known as Twitter, in a post that went viral.
Musk, who was born in Pretoria, tagged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) which led the anti-apartheid movement, asking why he has remained silent.
The chant has landed Malema in trouble before.
Last year a court ruled the song did not constitute hate speech, but an appeal is pending.
Malema, a 42-year-old firebrand, leads a militant party advocating for reforms to increase land ownership among Black South Africans.
Ahead of the press conference, a group of white-supremacists protested outside the EFF headquarters.
"Refer Elon Musk to YouTube; there is a full clip of the court appearance," Malema told reporters on Wednesday. "This matter is closed, we have no time for nonsense".
On Monday, South Africa's leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), said it would file a complaint against Malema with the UN Human Rights Council.
The EFF denies the chant constitutes a direct call for violence.
The squabble comes as South African parties position themselves for national elections in 2024.
© Agence France-Presse
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