Published : 09 Oct 2026, 02:05 PM
Updated : 09 Oct 2026, 02:05 PM
Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, has found himself in the crosshairs of Elon Musk, who has asked whether he is the “real boss of India”.
The jibe comes as Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service struggles to win final approval to launch in the country.
Musk made the remark on Thursday, a day after accusing unnamed powerful business interests of blocking Starlink’s entry, the BBC reports.
He singled out Ambani, whose Reliance conglomerate owns Jio, India’s biggest mobile network operator.
India has rejected the allegations, insisting its satellite communications rules are “fair and non-discriminatory”.
Ambani and Reliance Group have not responded, and the British broadcaster said it has asked them for comment.
The row comes as competition heats up in India’s satellite internet market, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel also preparing to launch services.
The rivalry is awkward, since both signed agreements with SpaceX in March 2025 to distribute Starlink equipment and services in India, subject to government approval.
They also said they could explore sharing network infrastructure.
Musk first made the allegations on Wednesday, accusing “certain oligarchs” of keeping a “monopolistic chokehold” on Indian consumers.
“You can guess who they are,” he wrote on X, calling the block “a crime against the people of India”.
On Thursday, India’s Ministry of Communications said three operators, Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, were at broadly the same stage of the approval process. All three await security clearances and spectrum allocation before launching commercial services.
“The suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” the ministry said, without naming Musk.
Musk kept up the pressure. “Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India, so why still no license? Is Ambani the real boss of India?” he wrote on X.
Starlink, owned by SpaceX, beams internet from low Earth orbit, particularly to remote areas where mobile networks and broadband cables are hard or costly to install.
It has reportedly been trying to enter India since 2021 and holds key licences, but still needs final security clearances and spectrum.
Wednesday’s row unfolded as senior executives from Starlink, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel gathered at the India Mobile Congress in Delhi to discuss their satellite plans.
Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Mukesh Ambani’s son, said the company was developing its own satellite communications technology and working towards approvals.
Asked about Musk’s allegations, he declined to comment. “We want to be heads down and deliver value to our Indian consumers,” he said.
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said his company’s satellite venture was also awaiting approvals.
SpaceX executive Lauren Dreyer, who oversees Starlink’s business operations, said the company had spent years working with Indian regulators and built security controls into its network to meet the country’s requirements.
Security has been a key concern. In 2024, Indian authorities said they had recovered Starlink equipment during a drug-smuggling investigation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and an army operation in Manipur, the BBC said.
Musk responded then that the service had never been active in India, so the equipment could not have been using its network, it added.
Affordability is another question, especially in rural areas. India is one of the world’s largest internet markets, yet access remains uneven. Musk argues Starlink could close the gap.
“Starlink in India would enable high-speed, affordable internet connectivity for those who can’t afford current prices or who don’t have a connection at all!” he wrote on X on Wednesday.
Starlink has yet to announce Indian prices, and some experts say its plans elsewhere suggest the service could be beyond many households. In the US, residential plans start at $55 a month, though prices and equipment costs vary.
