Musk criticizes billionaire Ambani: I did not realize that you are the de facto ruler of India
Quick Look
Elon Musk harshly criticized Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani on the X platform, describing him as the de facto ruler of India and accusing him of practicing a monopoly that prevents Starlink from entering the Indian market, while pointing to the benefits of the service in education and rescue during disasters.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Mukesh Ambani launched the Reliance Jio network in September 2016 with a free 4G internet offer for 6 months, triggering a price war in the Indian telecom sector and reaching over 250 million subscribers two years later.
(CNN) - Elon Musk, on Friday, harshly criticized the Indian billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, describing him as “the de facto ruler of India,” accusing him of monopolistic practice and preventing the “Starlink” company led by Musk from entering India.
This came in a blog post that Musk posted on his page on the
He continued: "In India - as is the case in all countries - there are many areas that lack Internet service, which deprives children of educational opportunities, and prevents small companies from selling their products in the global market. Starlink will change their lives for the better. Thank you."
Musk added: “Moreover, Starlink service has proven its utmost importance in saving lives during natural disasters around the world, in cases where all other communications systems fail; hence, you will also contribute to saving the lives of men, women and children across India.”
Ambani launched a new $20 billion mobile network, Reliance Jio, in September 2016, with a stunning inaugural show; New customers received free high-speed (4G) Internet service for 6 months. This sparked a price war, as other telecom companies dramatically reduced their prices, and just two years after its launch, the company had built a subscriber base exceeding 250 million people.
Starlink is the world's first and largest satellite constellation that uses low Earth orbit to provide broadband Internet capable of supporting broadcasting, online gaming, video calls, and more, according to the service's official website.
The network provides high-speed Internet and less time to transfer data back and forth between the user and the satellite to users around the world.
According to the site, most satellite Internet services come from single satellites orbiting the planet at a distance of 35,786 kilometers.
As a result, the round-trip data transfer time between the user and the satellite takes a long time, making it nearly impossible to support streaming, online gaming, video calls, or other high-data-rate activities.
Starlink is a network of thousands of satellites, orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 550 kilometers. Because Starlink satellites are in low orbits, the data transfer time between the user and the satellite is much lower, about 25 milliseconds, versus 600 milliseconds.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Public and political pressure on India to modify its policies on the entry of foreign satellite Internet services such as Starlink will continue
Possible · Within months
Open Questions
- Will the Indian government allow Starlink to enter the market?
- What conditions might India put in place to enable Starlink to work?
- How will the competition between Starlink and Reliance Jio affect internet prices in India?







