Musk Calls Ambani 'Prime Minister' in Starlink India Row

NEW DELHI: Elon Musk turned his fight for Starlink's India launch into a personal attack on the country's richest man last week, mocking Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as "Prime Minister Ambani" and accusing him of blocking satellite internet to protect a monopoly.

The broadside, posted on X on Oct. 8 and 9, was Musk's most aggressive move yet in a four-year struggle to bring Starlink's satellite broadband to India's more than one billion internet users. It drew a swift rebuke from New Delhi, which insisted every operator faces the same rules.

What Musk said

On Oct. 8, Musk asked his followers: "Is Ambani the real boss of India?" The next day he published a sarcastic open letter addressed to "Dear Prime Minister Ambani," writing that Ambani would "naturally" prefer to "maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India" but asking him to "nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete."

Musk argued Starlink would connect rural communities, remote schools and small businesses, and provide backup connectivity during disasters. He offered no evidence that Ambani had personally interfered with Starlink's approvals.

The posts capped days of escalating rhetoric in which Musk claimed unnamed "oligarchs" were orchestrating delays to preserve a "monopolistic chokehold." Congress leader Rahul Gandhi replied to one post: "Wait till you discover the other guy."

What the government says

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia pushed back on Oct. 9. "India does not allow a monopoly in any sector," he said at a media briefing, addressing Musk's remarks directly.

The communications ministry said Starlink already holds a GMPCS satellite licence but cannot begin commercial service until the Home Ministry and other agencies finish security assessments and regulators finalize spectrum charges. The Department of Telecommunications has approved a spectrum fee of 5 percent of adjusted gross revenue, pending Union Cabinet approval.

Officials stressed that all three licensed operators, Starlink, Reliance Jio's Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, are at "broadly the same regulatory stage." Suggestions of an unfair or discriminatory process, the government said, are "baseless and misconceived."

Reliance Jio did not respond to requests for comment. Akash Ambani declined to rebut Musk directly.

Why it matters

India's satellite broadband market is one of the biggest prizes in global telecom. Starlink already has distribution agreements with both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, but neither can be activated until the security and spectrum steps are complete.

The spat has become a political flashpoint. For Musk, India is a market he has chased for years; for New Delhi, the standoff is a test of whether its security-first regulatory framework can treat a foreign billionaire's company exactly like domestic champions. Whoever blinks first will shape how a billion Indians get online in the places fiber never reaches.

Key numbers

• 3: licensed satellite operators in India (Starlink, Jio Satcom, Eutelsat OneWeb)
• 5%: the approved spectrum charge, as a share of adjusted gross revenue
• 4: years Starlink has waited for a commercial launch in India
• 1 billion+: India's internet users, the market at stake