Elon Musk has escalated a public dispute with Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, accusing him of being India's "real boss" and of using his influence to keep Starlink, Musk's satellite internet service, out of the country. The Indian government has rejected the suggestion that licensing is being applied unfairly.
In posts on X on Friday, Musk addressed Ambani as "Prime Minister Ambani" and asked him to "consider allowing Starlink to compete". He said certain oligarchs were seeking to "maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people". Ambani's Reliance Jio, India's largest mobile operator, has more than 500 million subscribers. Musk also argued that many parts of India lack internet access, which he said denies children education and limits small businesses, and that Starlink has helped save lives in natural disasters elsewhere. He added that Starlink is licensed in more than 165 countries and has spent five years complying with Indian requirements, asking why it still has no licence.
On Saturday, Musk went further, sharing screenshots of earlier media reports. One was a 2022 Al Jazeera report alleging that a Reliance-funded firm helped boost the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaigns on Facebook. The other was a 2024 Indian Express report saying a Reliance-linked company, Qwik Supply, donated 385 crore rupees to the BJP and 25 crore rupees to the Shiv Sena through electoral bonds, a now-contested system of political funding. Reliance has not publicly responded to Musk's allegations.
The government has pushed back. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, speaking at the India Mobile Congress in Delhi, said India does not permit monopolies in any sector and that the Department of Telecommunications is "technology-agnostic". He said three companies already hold satellite communications licences: Starlink, Jio Satcom (Reliance Jio's satellite venture) and Eutelsat OneWeb, which is backed by Bharti. Amazon's Project Kuiper has expressed interest but must follow the established procedure. According to Scindia, each licensed firm can begin operations once spectrum charges are set and it meets security conditions. He said the telecom regulator TRAI and the department are close to a final decision on the pricing regime for satellite spectrum. The government has also described claims of selective application of its rules as "baseless and misconceived".
Scindia also criticised the opposition Congress party, whose leader Rahul Gandhi had exchanged views with Musk on X, saying Congress was unclear about its own position on the licensing issue.
The dispute matters because India is one of the world's biggest internet markets, and satellite broadband could reach remote areas that terrestrial networks serve poorly. It also puts a spotlight on how licensing, security conditions and spectrum pricing will shape competition between a global newcomer and entrenched domestic telecom giants.