Image of Elon Musk in 'apartheid' hat is a fabrication | Fact check

The claim: Image shows Elon Musk wearing 'Make apartheid great again' hat

A July 21 Threads post ( direct link , archive link ) shows billionaire Elon Musk wearing a black hat with the phrase, "Make apartheid great again."

"Musk has issues with diversity," reads the post.

It was reposted more than 80 times in four days.

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Our rating: Altered

The image has been digitally altered. The original is from 2019 and shows Musk in a black hat with no writing on it.

Image altered to add text to Musk's hat

The image has been edited to add the phrase on Musk's hat. The original , taken July 21, 2019, by AFP photographer Mark Ralston, shows Musk in a plain black hat. The caption says it was taken after the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition at SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles.

Other images taken during the same event also show Musk in a black hat with no text on it.

The competition logo on Musk's T-shirt is also removed in the Threads photo.

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Musk, 53, grew up in Pretoria , one of South Africa’s three capital cities , during apartheid , that country's former system of racial segregation and discrimination. He left South Africa at 17 to attend college in Canada, The New York Times reported.

The social media user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• AFP, July 21, 2019, US - SPACEX - HYPERLOOP - POD - COMPETITION
• The New York Times, May 5, 2022, Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege
• Vox, Oct. 20, 2023, The argument that Israel practices apartheid, explained

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Image of Elon Musk in 'apartheid' hat is a fabrication | Fact check