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Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis responded to an X post by Pretoria-born billionaire Elon Musk, who dubbed Cape Town ‘a beautiful theme park’ and other parts of the country as ‘extremely dangerous’ for female solo travellers travelling without a firearm, reports Cape {town} Etc.

Musk’s post aimed to offer ‘travel advice’ to a fellow X user whose young female friend intends to travel to South Africa:

‘Cape Town is essentially a beautiful theme park and is generally kept safe for the tourists, so staying in the tourist areas is probably ok,’ said Musk.

‘Other parts of the country can be extremely dangerous for a woman travelling alone with no gun. If visiting a trusted friend, listen very carefully to the directions of that friend. Do not get lost or go exploring without an escort.’

In the comment section, Hill-Lewis is seen joining the conversation with a bird’s-eye image of the Mother City and a counter-invitation to experience Cape Town beyond its tourist attractions.

‘Thanks, @ElonMusk, Table Mountain does make quite the backdrop! But trust me, Cape Town’s not just for show. Warm people, great startups and real heart live here. Alongside incredible beauty,’ replied Hill-Lewis.

‘Next time you’re in town, let me show you around.’

In his response, Hill-Lewis further highlighted three more pro-Cape Town points:

  • ‘Protecting and advancing property rights.’
  • ‘Attracting more tourists to come and support local businesses and grow jobs.’
  • ‘Deploying more metro police to tackle crime across the city.’

Musk’s travel advice, which may or may not encourage foreigners to travel to South Africa with guns comes a day before the police destroyed 16 049 guns in Vanderbijlpark, in their efforts to rid South Africa’s streets of illegal firearms and ammunition.

12 502 of the total guns destroyed were handguns, while 1 921 were shotguns and 47 were combination firearms.

Furthermore, 4 509 of the total guns were confiscated in the Western Cape – the highest among all provinces.

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Picture: Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis / Facebook

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