Elon Musk gave a one-word response to Lewis Hamilton telling Africa to ‘take back’ land from Britain earlier this year. The seven-time Formula One world champion delivered a striking address ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in March.

Hamilton, now racing for Ferrari, urged African countries to unite against what he described as ongoing European influence, specifically naming Britain, France, Spain and Portugal.

The 41-year-old didn't mince his words when addressing reporters in Melbourne. "I think it is the most beautiful part of the world, and I don't like that the rest of the world owns so much of it and takes so much from it and no one speaks about it," Hamilton declared.

He went further, calling for continental solidarity: "Take it back from the French, take it back from the Spanish, take it back from the Portuguese and the British. It's so important for the future of that continent." The Ferrari driver suggested Africa possessed sufficient resources to become "the greatest and most powerful place in the world," adding that this was "probably why they are being controlled the way they are."

Musk, a technology giant and owner of X, was born into a wealthy family in Pretoria, South Africa, before emigrating to Canada in 1989. He subsequently obtained Canadian citizenship through his mother and later became an American citizen in 2002, and left his feelings to the imagination with a cryptic reply to Hamilton's comments about colonialism. He wrote (see below):

Now recognised as the world's wealthiest individual since 2025, with Forbes estimating his fortune at approximately $970 billion (£730 billion) at the time of writing, Musk leads Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform where he posted his blunt reply.

Lewis Hamilton’s connection to Africa runs deep, with ancestral roots tracing back to Togo and Benin. "I've got roots from a few different places there, like Togo and Benin. I'm really proud of that part of the world," he explained in the same interview.

The motorsport icon has spent recent summer breaks exploring the continent, visiting Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and Nigeria among his travels to 10 African nations.

For the best part of the last decade, he has been lobbying Formula One stakeholders to bring a Grand Prix to Africa, the only inhabited continent without a race on the calendar. And he's now got his wish, as F1 announced they were heading to Rwanda in the coming years.

"I don't want to leave the sport without having a Grand Prix there," Hamilton stated, expressing concern that time may be running short.

However, with the current political landscape in the Middle East - where Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are set to host races this year - looking increasingly fragile amid the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran, there could be an increased chance of the sport branching out and breaking new, unexplored ground.