[LISTEN] Did JD Vance admit Elon Musk is making Trump ‘look bad’?

Leaked audio allegedly featuring United States (US) Vice President JD Vance has surfaced online. In the recording, an individual claims that South African-born billionaire Elon Musk is making US President Donald Trump look bad.

The audio has gone viral on social media, weeks after Musk took over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash federal spending across several departments.

Actions by 53-year-old Musk have sparked nationwide protests and calls for boycotts against Tesla.

Musk, who is the world’s richest man, has not shared any comment about the leaked audio on his social media platform X.

Musk ‘making us look bad’

In the audio clip, a man can be heard slamming Musk.

“He’s getting criticised in the media, and he says that he’s helping, and he’s not. He’s making us look bad. He’s making me look bad. And I’ll tell you this, and you wouldn’t like it if I said it, but he’s not even an American. He is from South Africa.

“There’s this great American leader in a room that has the portraits of some of the greatest men that ever lived in this country, and he has the audacity to act like he is an elected official. I am an elected official. I am the important one in this situation, not him. So if he wants to tank the economy and his cars, maybe that’s what he deserves,” the person can be heard saying.

Listen: Audio clip of man alleged to be JD Vance slamming Musk

A leaked audio clip of US Vice President JD Vance has surfaced online in which South African born billionaire Elon Musk is allegedly making US President Donald Trump look bad. Musk’s AI bot Grok on X dubbed the unverified audio as "likely not real" @elonmusk @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/yLPw2cbii1

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) March 24, 2025

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘South Africa is a very violent place’ – Elon Musk

Is the audio clip authentic?

When The Citizen asked Musk’s AI bot Grok on X whether the audio clip was authentic, Grok dubbed the unverified audio as “likely not real”.

“There’s no concrete evidence to confirm the audio clip’s authenticity. The original post uses satirical terms like ‘toddler pants’ and ‘MuskRAT,’ suggesting humour, not fact. No reliable sources confirm it; [it] seems fabricated.

“The alleged remarks — calling Musk ‘not even an American’, accusing him of ‘cosplaying’ as a leader, and using phrases like ‘toddler pants’ — sound theatrical and misaligned with Vance’s typical rhetoric,” the AI chatbot said.

US-SA tensions

The audio, which refers to Musk as “South African”, comes amid tensions between the US and South Africa, which are at an all-time low after US President Donald Trump cut financial aid to South Africa, citing Pretoria taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and strengthening ties with Iran.

‘SA violent’

Musk has also been critical of South Africa.

In August 2022, the billionaire and CEO of Space X and Tesla, responding to questions on the Full Send Podcast about whether he had ever been in fights, said, “South Africa is a very violent country.”

Musk said being bullied in South Africa probably helped motivate him to achieve success in life, and although he never started any, he was regularly in fights he didn’t want to be in.

“Where I grew up, things were very violent. I mean, I never started a fight or anything, but I had a lot of fights that I didn’t want to be in and I got beat up really badly in a few of them actually. So, I’ve been in real hardcore street fights.”

‘Musk not black’

Earlier this month, Musk shared a post on his X platform about not being able to operate Starlink in this country because of his skin colour.

South Africa’s head of diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, dismissed the claims, saying, “Sir, that’s NOT true, and you know it! It’s got nothing to do with your skin colour. Starlink is welcome to operate in [South Africa], provided there’s compliance with local laws. This is a global international trade and investment principle.”

ALSO READ: Musk remark on not bringing Starlink to SA because he’s not ‘black’ dismissed [VIDEO]